Business Update

RNS Number : 8367M

XLMedia PLC

26 January 2021

 

26 January 2021

XLMedia PLC

("XLMedia" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Business Update

XLMedia (AIM: XLM), a leading global digital performance publisher , today provides an update for the year ended 31 December 2020.

For the Full Year 2020, XLMedia expects to deliver revenue of approximately $54.5 million (H1 2020: $27.7 million) and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $11.5 million (excluding transformation costs and share based payments) (H1 2020: $5.1 million).

As detailed in the first half results in September, the Company is pursuing a multi-track approach to recovering the Casino vertical, where a number of sites were penalised by Google early in 2020.  This process is being carried out in conjunction with a fundamental rationalisation of the asset portfolio, significantly reducing the overall number of sites and upgrading the quality of those remaining, with a concentration on highly-engaging content and enhanced functionality to drive increased traffic and build consumer loyalty.

The approach to recovering the Casino vertical is an orderly combination of, i) submitting to Google for reconsideration certain sites which have been rebuilt in-house or in conjunction with a partner, ii) developing some entirely new sites, where this is the better strategic option, iii) de-indexing sites which are immaterial and may have a negative impact on the authority of the premium websites, and iv) disposing of sites which no longer fit with the direction of the business.  We have now completed the core development work on all the rebuilt sites we will take forward and have commenced the submission process to Google for reconsideration.  To date, we have been successful in having the penalty removed for three of the ten sites we wish to recover, Casino.pt , Casino.gr and CasinoKiwi.co.nz .  Learnings from both successes and initial rejections are being applied to the ongoing refinement of the remaining sites and we will resubmit those sites in due course.  We will provide a further update on the Casino recovery process with the Financial Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2020, currently expected on 13 April 2021.

The information contained within this announcement (the "Announcement") is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this Announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For further information, please contact:

XLMedia plc Stuart Simms, Chief Executive Officer Iain Balchin, Chief Financial Officer Kieran McKinney, Investor Relations www.xlmedia.com	[e-mail]
Vigo Communications Jeremy Garcia www.vigocomms.com	Tel: [phone]
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker) Giles Balleny / Max Gould www.cenkos.com	Tel: [phone]
Berenberg (Joint Broker) Chris Bowman / Mark Whitmore / Simon Cardron www.berenberg.com	Tel: [phone]

Notes:

XLMedia is a leading global digital performance publisher. Operating globally across a variety of verticals including online gambling, personal finance, sports and technology, the Group uses proprietary tools and methodologies to identify and target high value clients for platform operators.

XLMedia has a clear transformation strategy, which will enable it to shape the future of the performance publishing industry.  The Company has set out a clear strategic agenda under two fundamental priorities:

· A balanced portfolio of online assets

o  XLMedia seeks to create a balanced portfolio of websites to cover a range of attractive geographies, both stable and high-growth verticals and with greater exposure to regulated markets.  In doing so, the Company will focus particularly on developing our presence in North American sports, primarily through targeted acquisition.

· Branded, content-rich, engaging websites

o  XLMedia will consolidate its online portfolio, concentrating on a much smaller number of publishing assets, and focusing its resources on optimising this core set of premium sites for its chosen markets.  These content-rich, engaging websites, underpinned by intelligent market-leading technology, will seek to build stronger lasting relationships with consumers and enhance monetisation opportunities.

 

END

 

 

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