Zinc Media makes substantial first-half progress

Television, brand and audio production specialist Zinc Media Group reported substantial first-half progress on Wednesday, with revenue growth of 68% year-on-year, bringing it to £18.1m.

The AIM-traded firm said organic revenue, excluding figures from The Edge, saw impressive growth of 12% year-on-year for the six months ended 30 June, backed by a solid customer base contributing to high net revenue retention.

Both the television and content production sectors saw revenue increases, and its recent acquisition, The Edge, continued to surpass initial expectations.

The company also reported a remarkable improvement in adjusted EBITDA, swinging to a profit of £0.2m from a loss of £0.6m in the first half of 2022.

Additionally, gross margins increased significantly to 41%, from 33% in the same period last year.

The group's financial health was robust, with cash reserves standing at £5.8m as of 30 June, up from £2.2m at the end of December.

As of 25 September, Zinc Media had secured a total revenue of £35m for the 2023 financial year, which signified a £4m increase since its last update in July and meant that the year's revenue would significantly exceed the £30m it recorded in 2022.

Discussions were also underway that could result in an additional £7m in revenue for the year.

The group did, however, report a loss of £1.6m before tax in the period, mainly attributed to costs linked with the acquisition of The Edge, depreciation, and finance costs.

Looking ahead, the board was optimistic about the company's future.

The successful conversion of new business during the period reinforced its confidence in meeting market expectations for the year.

It said The Edge's commendable performance and seamless integration into the group offered promising cross-divisional business development opportunities.

Moreover, projections for 2024 looked promising, with £11m of revenue already secured, which was £5m more than what was recorded at the same point last year.

“We are delighted with our first-half performance in a challenging content production market,” said chief executive officer Mark Browning.

“Our year-on-year increase of this scale bucks the market trend - this is the result of a robust strategy rooted in organic growth alongside the acquisition of The Edge.

“The investments made in the transformation plan are delivering, every business in the group is growing, and we are confident of meeting market expectations for the year.”

At 0841 BST, shares in Zinc Media Group were up 8.11% at 100p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.