CentralNic (CNIC) announced on 19 December that it is acquiring a portfolio of niche websites as part of its vertical integration strategy for its Online Marketing segment. The portfolio provides the company with exclusive special internet traffic to monetise and will be immediately earnings accretive. This is the latest in a multi-year series of acquisitions that has been transformative for the business, driving strong free cash flow generation. Combined with recent debt restructuring, CNIC is now in a position to start to return cash to shareholders and expects to launch its first share buyback by the end of FY22. We have upgraded our FY22 and FY23 revenue and profit forecasts to reflect these recent announcements, as well as the group’s strong trading. The acquisition follows the recent announcement of CEO Ben Crawford’s retirement from the CNIC board, with group CFO Michael Riedl appointed as his successor.
