Centaur Media - MAP23 plan delivers a higher-quality business

Centaur’s FY23 results mark the end of its MAP23 margin acceleration plan, with the adjusted EBITDA margin more than doubling over its three-year course to 26%, ahead of the original 23% target. This is despite an unhelpful economic backdrop with extended pressure on corporate marketing budgets. Centaur’s strategy for the next period will be outlined on 23 April at a capital markets day, at which time we will extend our forecast horizon to FY25. We expect the new plan to enhance the business mod

FY23: 26% adj EBITDA margins

Centaur Media has delivered a resilient revenue and strong profit performance in FY23. Group revenues declined 3% yoy, but higher quality revenue streams increased 3% yoy and now account for 80% of group revenues. FY23 was the final year of Centaur’s MAP23 and FY23 adj EBITDA increased 20% yoy to £9.7m while margins improved 5pp to 26%. Margin expansion has been a multi-year theme with adj EBITDA margins more than doubling over MAP23 from 11.7% in FY20 to 25.9% in FY23. Centaur Media’s managemen

Centaur Media - Strong margin performance

Centaur’s year-end trading update indicates that the group has delivered a strong EBITDA margin for FY23, above 25% and well ahead of the level targeted in the MAP23 margin acceleration plan. This is despite it having been a difficult year in which to grow revenues, with clients slow to close out larger contracts, as broadly reported across the sector. We currently expect confidence to pick up in H224, after a relatively cautious start to the year. We have made provisional adjustments to our est

FY23 Trading Update: A record margin performance

Centaur Media has provided a trading update for FY’Dec23 with yoy growth in both adjusted EBITDA and margin. This is a strong performance, and consistent with Centaur’s Margin Acceleration Plan 2023 (‘MAP23’) target. The Centaur business today, is unrecognisable to that of just a few year ago with a focus on higher-margin, recurring revenue streams and a c.25%+ EBITDA margin vs the c.10% margin delivered four years ago. Over that same period, Centaur has generated impressive shareholder returns,

Centaur Media - Higher-quality revenues support EBITDA growth

Centaur’s strategy of focusing on the development its key operations, the Flagship 4, is underpinning group EBITDA levels against a difficult trading backdrop limiting revenue growth potential. Flagship 4 revenues grew by 6% in H1 and now represent 74% of the group, with total H123 revenues down 3% y-o-y as other areas came under greater pressure. The increased proportion of higher-quality revenues in the mix means that the adjusted EBITDA margin should at least achieve the target FY23 level of

H1: EBITDA tracking in-line

Centaur Media’s outlook points to FY’23e EBITDA (and therefore cash) in-line with MAP23 goals laid out three years ago, although with revenues light given the weaker macro backdrop. H1 revenues were £19.3m (-3% y/y; SCMe: £21.3m), impacted by decline in non-core sales (advertising, recruitment and marketing solutions) even as Flagship 4 (74%/Group) revenues grew +6% y/y. EBITDA margins were in-line at 18.1% (+110bps y/y), whilst net cash stood at £8.8m (FY’22: £16.0m) post payment of £8.0m of di

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 15 Mar 23

15 March 2023 @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment objectiv

Centaur Media - Good cash conversion funds further special dividend

Centaur’s FY22 results have come in slightly better than indicated at the year-end update, showing good revenue growth of 6% and a notable step-up in adjusted EBITDA margin, from 16% to 20%, as the group focuses on its higher-quality repeat and recurring revenue streams. The ‘new’ news is of an additional special dividend of 2.0p, coming soon after the 3.0p special dividend paid in February, reflecting the accumulation of cash on the balance sheet beyond the level needed to support the existing

Positive momentum confirmed

Centaurs FY22 once again demonstrates managements positive underlying operational execution to date, with prelims confirming continued top-line growth and strong H2 margin expansion despite the uncertain market backdrop. Revenues grew +6% y/y to £41.6m (SCMe: £41.1m) with EBITDA margins of 20.4% (adj EBITDA: 19.5%). Net cash of £16.0m at the full year outturn (+22% y/y) reflects continued strong cash conversion (99%), with FCF of £5.1m delivered in the period. Balance sheet strength and further

Centaur Media - Strong cash performance and special dividend

Centaur’s year-end trading update indicates revenue of at least £41m and an EBITDA margin of more than 19.5%. Our FY22e EBITDA, PBT and EPS numbers are unchanged, showing strong growth over the prior year, albeit with a slower H222. Notwithstanding the reduced momentum, Centaur should still meet its FY23 MAP23 targets of £45m in revenue and an EBITDA margin of 23%. Given the strong cash performance, with year-end net cash of £16.0m (excluding lease debt), management has announced the payment of

MAP23 still on track

Centaurs FY22e update once again demonstrates positive underlying business momentum delivering continued top-line growth and strong H2 margin expansion despite the uncertain macro backdrop. Revenues are guided to be at least £41m (+5% y/y; SCMe: £42.1m) with margins of 19.5% implying £8.0m adj EBITDA (+25% y/y; SCMe: £8.0m). Net cash of £16.0m was well ahead of forecasts (£15.3m) implying cash conversion remains strong given balance sheet strength, management are to return £4.4m (equivalent to 3

Brave Bison - Growth Stampede Continues at Brave Bison

Brave Bison has released its FY23A results which are in-line with the upgraded expectations at the recent trading update. The acquisition of SocialChain has transformed The Group’s offering in the fast-growing social and influencer segment of the market leaving it well-positioned for the expected pick-up in marketing spend in 2024. Management have continued to drive operational efficiencies in The Group, for example rolling out an advanced resource planning tool, which has contributed to Adj EPS

Morning Note – 22 April 2024

LBG Media (LBG LN) - Strong momentum into FY24

Resilient growth in core markets: Revenue of £67.5m is +7.5% YOY (FY22: £62.8m) and +0.7% vs. Zeus estimate of £67.0m, with growth across Direct and Indirect divisions benefitting from increased activity with new and existing clients.

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 22 April 2024

22nd April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: 16 April 2024: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radi

S4 Capital - Extension of recovery horizon

S4 Capital had a difficult FY23, as flagged, with reduced client confidence and spend, particularly from those clients in the tech sector, and on larger transformation projects. Management is cautious in the short term, with no substantive changes likely in H124, but sees conditions likely to improve in H224 as economic pressures ease. The group’s longer-term prospects should be buoyed by its positioning across data and digital marketing and, in particular, in incorporating AI into hyper-persona

Next 15 Group - Baked in AI opportunities

Next 15 Group's net revenues grew 2.5% in the year to January, despite difficult markets. Adjusted operating margin rose from 20.2% to 21.0%, helped by head office cost savings. In common with much of the sector, spending by tech clients was soft, down 17% like-for-like. The group did well, though, in growing spend from non-tech clients, up 11%, making for a strong overall performance in a market beset by ongoing macro uncertainty. Next 15 has been building its AI capabilities for some time and

LIBERUM: The Liberum Leisure Digest: NLW increase - pricing power is key

Team Internet Group - Growth and returns, acquisition bolsters outlook

Team Internet’s FY23 results exceeded our forecasts and consensus on revenue and EBITDA. Online Marketing was driven by increased consumer engagement, reflecting investment in delivering more targeted ads across a wider array of channels. The group’s latest acquisition, Shinez, strengthens Online Marketing via diversification of publishers and is earnings accretive with scope for further synergies. Online Presence returned to strong revenue growth, driven by demand for exotic domains, pricing op

STV Group+ (STVG, House Stock at 235p) - Recent news extends positive momentum

Brave Bison - Underlying Performance Reassuringly In-line

Brave Bison has released its interim results for the period ending June 2023. The update shows the SocialChain integration has been materially completed, with synergies mostly realised and new client wins taking place as a combined business. Gross revenue increased 15% YoY to £16.9m and net revenue increased 23% to £10m, both driven primarily by the new contribution from SocialChain. Adj EBITDA increased by 20% to £1.9m and Adj PBT increased 16% to £1.5m, both in-line with expectations. We have

Next 15 - FY24 Full Year update

If one focused solely on the share price chart, it would appear Next 15 had experienced a near death experience in 2023 with multiple, and extensive downgrades. The reality has been somewhat different. Next 15 will exit FY24 delivering both top line growth and year on year margin progression.

Data Driven Marketing

Jaywing is a UK marketing services company with a clearly differentiated market position in data science. Core, is the delivery of behavioural insights and algorithms to enhance the roi of clients marketing and customer experience programmes and, in a highly personalised way. The acquisition of search marketing specialist Epiphany in March 2014 was strategically transformative, giving Jaywing a profitable growth platform as well as consolidating its leading position in digital data and online m

LBG Media (LBG LN) - Solid core trading, new APAC operating model to drive efficiency

Pre-close trading update sees FY23E revenue growth of ~7% to £67m with Adj. EBITDA to be at least +8% to £17m. Followers are +20% to 440m, with new blue-chip client wins secured. Challenges in APAC have driven implementation of a new, lower-cost, operating model, leveraging LBG’s core UK business and a new strategic partnership with Australia’s largest online media publisher.

Allenby Capital TMT Update - 04.03.24 - ENSI.L, MIRI.L, BIRD.L, PPS.L, CHSS.L, ENET.L, SEEN.L

Please find below our weekly update covering themes that we feel that are of interest to investors and participants in the small and mid-cap TMT sector as well as commentary on recent newsflow.

Cenkos: Brave Bison Group Plc -- The Next Link in the Chain

Brave Bison has raised £4.75m of equity capital at 2.3p, to help fund an acquisition of a complementary business, called Social Chain. The target will bring significant brand recognition and cross-selling opportunities to blue-chip clients. We forecast an increase in FY23E revenues of £12.4m to £42.9m, a £1.0m increase in Adj EBITDA to £4.1m and an 11% increase in Adj EPS from 0.22p to 0.25p. Post-acquisition, Brave Bison would trade on a discount to the peer group median across EV/Sales, EV/EBI