XLMedia Plc has cited confidence in delivering on its full-year financial expectations and corporate objectives following positive first-half trading in 2021.
Publishing an H1 trading update (period ending 30 June), the London AIM-listed digital publisher expects to generate interim revenues of $32 million, up 15% on corresponding H1 2020 results of $27.7 million.
Corporate performance has been buoyed by the ‘consistent performance’ of its personal finance unit and a ‘record organic growth period’ achieved by its European sports betting portfolio.
The growth of the two units has helped XLMedia offset a revenue decline registered by its online casino network which continues to adjust to operating a smaller publishing base impacted by ‘deteriorating tail revenues’.
As a result, XLMedia anticipates registering an EBITDA of circa $2.9 million (H1 2020: US$3.5 million) and adjusted EBITDA of approximately US$7.0 million (H1 2020: US$5.1 million).
Providing an ‘operational update’, XLMedia has launched a number of US-focused marketing initiatives, which aim to bolster traffic levels to newly acquired websites, entering a critical H2 trading period.
XLMedia continues its strategic transformation, in which the publisher will be organised by its ‘vertical markets, supported by a distributed shared services model’.
“This will allow XLMedia to better match the design of the Group with its strategic intentions and more effectively execute and deliver them,” an XLMedia statement read. “This process is particularly relevant to the Casino vertical which continues to generate lower levels of both historic and new player revenues.”
The reorganisation sees XLMedia maintain its target to reduce corporate headcount by 15% operating on an agile business model and improving its group cost controls.
Closing its trading statement, XLMedia reaffirms its previous May guidance that 2021 full-year corporate revenues will be achieved between the range of $65 to $70 million.