18th Jan 2010 07:00
Media Corporation Plc("Media Corp" or the "Group")
Trading Update
Monday 18th January 2010
Media Corporation plc, a leading AIM quoted media and online gaming Group, is pleased to announce that, ahead of the release of the final results for the year to 30 September 2009 expected in March 2010, it has experienced a very strong start to the current financial year.
Whilst the Group expects to report a loss for the full year ended 30 September 2009 it is greatly encouraged by the start to this financial year and delighted to report a return to profitability for the first quarter as detailed below.
First Quarter 2010* Unaudited Trading Highlights:
*1 October 2009 - 31 December 2009
Revenues of £4.6m (Q1 2009: £1.0m) - an increase of 460% Gross profit of £1.8m (Q1 2009: £0.4m) - an increase of 450% Profit before tax of £0.370m (Q1 2009: Loss of £0.453m) EBITDA £0.412m (Q1 2009: Loss of £0.407m) Cash balances as at 31 December 2009 of £2.3m (Dec 08: £2.7m)The Directors believe that these figures demonstrate a material turnaround in the Group, driven by the recent acquisition of Purple Lounge Limited, the Group's online poker and casino business combined with a very strong performance from Eyeconomy, the Group's wholly owned advertising network has also contributed to this exceptional result.
In addition, the Directors anticipate that revenues will continue to grow in the financial year as Purple Lounge Limited is fully integrated, benefitting from the associated cost savings and the full benefit of the Group's extensive online marketing expertise is applied to Purple Lounge's Casino and Poker offerings.
Against this background and on the assumption that these trends continue, whilst the Directors consider it too early in the current financial year to talk about full year expectations they are optimistic and confident that the Group will continue to experience strong profitability and growth for the year.
Justin Drummond, Media Corporation's CEO, commented:
"I'm delighted with the Group's first three months of the new financial year. A strong performance from Eyeconomy and the transformational acquisition of Purple Lounge Limited has led to a record quarter for the Group.
"The past few months have seen a material shift in the Group's fortunes, with the successful new acquisition, the lifting of the Google penalty and the appointment of Board Directors, Chris Gorman OBE and John Palmer all contributing to this strong trading performance. We feel extremely positive and I look forward to providing further updates over the course of the year."
Further information can be found on the company's website, at www.mediacorpplc.com or by contacting:
| Media Corporation plc | Tel: +44 20 7618 9000 | ||
| Justin Drummond - CEO | |||
| Nilesh Jagatia - Finance Director | |||
| Astaire Securities plc | Tel: + 44 20 7448 4400 | ||
| Luke Cairns | |||
| Bishopsgate Communications | Tel: + 44 20 7562 3350 | ||
| Robyn Samuelson/Gemma O'Hara | |||
| [email protected] | |||
| Threadneedle Communications | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 9850 | ||
| Graham Herring/Alex White |
Notes to editors:
Quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Media Corp is a leading media and online gaming group.
The Group has two principal divisions:
Advertising Network - Formed in 1996, Eyeconomy specialises in mass reach campaigns to up to 50 Million unique consumers per month via its own proprietary ad-serving and tracking technology for clients including AOL, Dell and American Express.
www.eyeconomy.co.uk
Website Publishing - Media Corp has a diversified publishing division specialising in online media and gaming.
The impressive portfolio of websites includes a number of market leading websites, such as www.purplelounge.com, www.gambling.com, www.onthebox.com, www.sport.co.uk, www.creditcardexpert.co.uk and www.flightcomparison.co.uk.
Further information can be found on the company's website, at www.mediacorpplc.com
Copyright Business Wire 2010
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