XLMedia FY profit growth hit by systems and technology investments

Digital performance publisher XLMedia said on Thursday that it had made a solid start to 2021, supported by a good performance in the personal finance and European sports verticals but also warned that full-year profit growth would be held back by investment moves.

However, XLMedia said its strong performance in the aforementioned units, alongside recent acquisitions in the US sports vertical, had only partially offset ongoing weakness in its European casino assets.

"We expect revenues in the Casino vertical to decline further in 2021 and will continue to adjust our cost base accordingly as we further stabilise this vertical in the medium-term," said chief executive Stuart Simms.

The AIM-listed group stated that given the "robust performance" and "increased revenue visibility" so far this trading year, it now currently expects to deliver full-year revenues of between $65.0m and $70.0m.

XLMedia also stated it continued to invest in its ongoing transformation, including systems and technology that underpin performance, to build an infrastructure platform that will support anticipated growth and cautioned that this investment, and the additional operating costs associated with recent acquisitions, would hold back profit progression in the current year.

"In the medium term, the company expects to deliver year-on-year profitable revenue growth and to leverage the infrastructure investment to reduce ongoing operating costs, leading to a gradual return to the operating margin levels last experienced in 2019," concluded Simms.

As of 1150 BST, XLMedia shares were down 7.95% at 45.75p.