18th Oct 2007 07:00
Media Corporation PLC Trading update Media Corporation plc ("Media Corp" or "the Group"), a leading internetadvertising Group, issues a trading update ahead of the Group's preliminaryresults for the year ended 30 September 2007. Trading has been in-line with market forecasts for the year and operationscontinue to perform well following a strong return to operating profitabilityduring the second half of the financial year. In addition, the Group has made a significant exceptional pre-tax profit ofapproximately £2.5 million in the 2007 financial year, following the successfulsale of the Casino.co.uk business. Additional consideration of up to £0.625million may also be received by the Group during the 2008 financial year if theassets sold achieve certain pre-agreed targets during the first six months'trading. The Group ended the 2007 financial year in a very strong financial position withover £6.5 million in cash. Commenting on today's announcement, Justin Drummond, CEO, said: "The Board has successfully re-focused the business, reducing the Group'sreliance on advertising revenue from the online gaming sector. Initial benefitsof this diversification strategy have been witnessed during the second half ofthe year. We are pleased with the growth experienced as a direct result ofrepositioning our business, and we look forward to a promising start to the 2008financial year". Internet Publishing Highlights -- ignificant investment in senior management, technical infrastructure and internet publishing assets completed during the second half of the 2007 financial year -- Recruitment of a team of highly experienced internet publishing specialists during the second half in Technical, Search Engine Optimisation and Copywriters/Content writers -- Successful Re-launch of market leading web-sites: www.onthebox.com and www.gambling.com during the second half of 2007 -- Ongoing Premium Domain Name acquisitions and new web sites under development Advertising Network Highlights (Eyeconomy) -- Transition from TV budgets to online is driven by penetration of internet access to a majority of the UK population: more time online than watching TV in many homes -- Eyeconomy provides very large scale media spaces with reach comparable to TV but traceable and online -- Eyeconomy currently reaches over 30 million people in the UK each month Major Client Wins -- Recent Clients include American Express, Sky, AOL, World Wildlife Fund and Dating Direct: Ongoing major new client pitches underway -- High proportion of long term (over three month) campaigns Demonstrated Growth -- Sales team more than doubled in size during the second half of the financial year -- Securing rights to broad traffic sites: representing over 750 websites -- Geographical expansion already underway -- Recent investment in significant presence at trade shows and trade PR starting to return value Strategy going forward The Board is aiming for continued significant growth during 2008 as we seek tomaximise the potential of the Group's internet publishing assets. The Groupclearly owns very valuable internet assets, as was demonstrated by the recentsale of the Casino.co.uk business for £3.6 Million. With an existing significantweb site portfolio still owned by the Group, the Board will continue to rapidlydevelop and enhance the value of its core internet assets, and maximise theirvalue for the benefit of shareholders. For further information please contact: \* TMedia Corporation plcJustin Drummond, Chief Executive+44 (0)20 7618 9000 Buchanan CommunicationsCharles Ryland/Suzanne Brocks/Susanna Gale+44 (0)20 7466 5000 Canaccord Adams LimitedMark Ashurst, Managing Director+44 (0)20 7050 650\* T Notes to editors: Listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Media Corp is a leadinginternet media and advertising group focused on website publishing and onlineadvertising. The Group has two principal divisions: Website Publishing - Media Corp has a diverse publishing division specializingin online media. Our impressive portfolio of websites includes a number ofmarket leading sites including www.gambling.com, www.creditcardexpert.co.uk,www.onthebox.com and www.flightcomparison.co.uk. Online Advertising - Formed in 1996, Eyeconomy specialises in mass reachcampaigns to over 30 Million unique consumers per month via its own proprietaryad-serving and tracking technology for clients including AOL, Dell and AmericanExpress. www.eyeconomy.co.uk www.mediacorpplc.com Copyright Business Wire 2007Related Shares:
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