CentralNic delivers bullish outlook after H1 growth

Domain registry and internet services provider CentralNic gave an upbeat outlook on Monday as it delivered an impressive set of first-half results, with revenues rising by nearly a fifth.

The figures, which were in line with guidance given last month, showed that revenue increased 18% year-on-year to $396.4m in the six months to 30 June, while adjusted EBITDA rose 16% to $44.6m. Adjusted EPS jumped 34% to 11.37 cents.

The London-based firm said results were driven by "ongoing market share gains of its proprietary privacy-safe, AI based customer journeys which address a multi-billion-dollar opportunity".

Over the 12 months to 30 June, the number of visitor sessions jumped 49% to 5.3bn, while revenue per thousand sessions was stable at $100m.

Looking ahead, CentralNic expects to trade "at least in line with current market expectations" for the whole of 2023.

Chief executive officer Michael Riedl said the company "continued to deliver yet another strong quarterly performance, enhancing our market share in each of the segments in which we operate".

He said CentralNic has a "highly dependable and sustainable" business model, and expressed his optimism around AI's role in the long-term business strategy: "Our strategy is built on three pillars: (a) enhancing AI capacity, (b) accelerating AI impact, and (c) scaling our AI advantage. The group has been at the forefront of the industry in integrating AI into the heart of our operations and has successfully pioneered and launched multiple AI projects."

Shares rose 1.8% to 134p in early trade on Monday.