Zinc Media Group plc (LON:ZIN), the award-winning television, brand and audio production group, has announced that the Group has performed very well since its previous trading update on 21 November 2022, delivering strong financial performance to the end of FY22 and starting the year in its strongest position in five years, with several high value new commissions and an excellent pipeline of further opportunities. The Group expects to report its audited results for FY22 by the end of April.
Financial highlights:
· Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for FY22 are expected to be ahead of current market expectations, with the Group profitable (at EBITDA level) during the second half of the year
· Strong Q4 performance boosted by The Edge which had its best trading year ever
· A positive outlook for the financial year ahead with:
o £15m revenue booked and anticipated to be delivered in FY23 (7 February 2022: £9m for delivery in FY22), an increase of £9m since the trading update in November 2022
o £12m of highly advanced revenue on the pipeline for delivery in FY23 (7 February 2022: £6m)
o The Edge with record pre-booked revenue for the year ahead
· Robust balance sheet with cash of £3.8m as at 2 February 2023
Mark Browning, Zinc Media Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This is the strongest start to a financial year during my time at Zinc and comes off the back of our expected over performance against market expectations for FY22. The Group has an excellent pipeline and a high amount of revenue at contracting or highly advanced stage for FY23. The Edge is performing ahead of initial expectations, and we have launched another new TV label which will further diversify our product and client base in FY23 and FY24. Our latest series from Brook Lapping, Putin vs The West, is a timely reminder that Zinc Media Group produces some of the world’s most watched and most talked about television.”
New commissions and other operational highlights:
· Tern TV starts the year in production with ten returning series.
· The latest series from Brook Lapping, Putin vs The West, premiered on the BBC and iPlayer last week and led the news agenda on its day of release. The series explores the decisions which led to the war in Ukraine and included access to David Cameron, Teresa May, Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the Director of the CIA.
· Launch of Atomic Television, a new TV production label based in Bristol specialising in premium specialist factual within the genres of history, science and adventure which will pitch in to the lucrative US market, alongside the UK.
· Red Sauce starts the year producing its first commission for Channel 4, a potential returning series, plus a returning series for UKTV.
· The Edge’s strong performance in Q4 came from all parts of the business and included a significant production for the global agency McCann, in addition to continued growth within its long-term client base.
