Zinc Media losses narrow in 'excellent' first half

Television, brand and content production company Zinc Media Group reported “excellent progress” in its first half on Wednesday, with revenue rising 54% to £10.8m.

The AIM-traded firm recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of £0.65m for the six months ended 30 June, improving from a first-half loss of £1.1m last year.

Gross margins in the period were 33%, compared to 34% year-on-year, which the board said remained “significantly up” on 2019 and 2020, when they were a respective 25% and 30%.

The acquisition of the Edge Picture Company after the period ended, as announced in August, would add scale to the existing group, which the board said would support long-term profitability.

It described the Edge as “one of the largest” brand and corporate filmmaking production companies in the UK, closely aligning with Zinc’s other film-based production businesses.

The group completed a fundraise of £5m before expenses alongside the acquisition of the Edge, supported by several new and existing institutional shareholders.

It said the proceeds were used to finance the acquisition, and would also provide additional growth capital for the group.

As at 26 September, the enlarged company had booked £27m of revenue which had been, or was expected to be, delivered in 2022, representing an increase of £10m since the last trading update in May and an improvement of £10m compared to the same point in 2021.

The group said it had a “strong pipeline” of potential new business for 2022 and 2023, and was confident of trading in line with market expectations.

“We are delighted with the current performance of the group which has seen a considerable increase in turnover whilst maintaining an attractive margin, with good visibility of sustainable profitability,” said chief executive officer Mark Browning.

“The organic growth, coupled with the acquisition of the Edge, provides initial scale and the Board is optimistic about the group's outlook and views the future with confidence.”

At 1024 BST, shares in Zinc Media Group were down 1.06% at 93p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.