Mirriad Advertising (MIRI ) said it is “well-placed” to benefit from the expected advertising sector recovery in the second half of this year as the business hails its progress in 2020.
The in-content advertising company saw revenue increase by 91% for the year ended 31 December 2020 to £2.18m (FY19: £1.14m), its highest ever revenue achieved and almost double that of 2019. This was largely based on the particularly strong revenue generated in China based on the firm’s exclusive deal with Tencent video announced in July 2019.
At the same time, the company slashed its losses by 25% to £9.09m (FY19: £12.17m) while it also reduced its cost consumption by 27% to £8.06m from £11.01m in the prior 2019 period.
During the year, Mirriad continued to focus on developing its operations across the US, which is largely considered the world's largest advertising market, as well as across Europe.
In the US, it signed a deal with a major tier one entertainment giant in the final quarter and ran the first campaign for that partner in December. The company said the deal adds to the existing supply partner relationships in the US with Univision, Condé Nast and Tastemade.
This deal was followed by the announcement of the Mirriad Music Alliance, a partnership with globally renowned record labels and leading independent music companies to bring brands immediate access to millions of consumers through over a thousand global artists.
Mirriad said that these two agreements secured in 2020 demonstrate ‘the flexibility of its technology and its ability to adapt with ease to reach into new growth markets.’
At the end of December 2020, Mirriad completed a successful fundraising of £26.2m which it said has given it the adequate financial resources in order to continue to invest in its technology as well as build its sales capability, particularly across the United States.
Net cash used in operations over the period was £8.06m (2019: £10.95m) as the benefits of the firm’s restructuring flowed through to cash. Net assets rose to £35.3m(2019: £19.2m) while cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December 2020 were £35.4m (2019: £19.1m).
"In 2020 we provided operational stability during a challenging period, with adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the wider advertising and content industries. We have been able to reduce our own costs through prudent management and also drive additional revenue, underlining our commitment to building long-term shareholder value,” said CEO, Stephan Beringer.
Shares in Mirriad Advertising have increased by nearly 30% in value since the beginning of the year. The stock was trading 0.88% lower this morning at 56.5p following the news.
Post-period in April, Mirriad qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market in the US, a market which is home to international brands such as Roche, Adidas and Heineken.
Mirraid said the move enables its shares to be traded by all major broker-dealers in the US and the ability to access Mirriad's Ordinary Shares in US dollars, during US market hours.
Mirriad said its focus in 2021 will be to establish itself as ‘the media solution for a new era in audience engagement.’ It said it will achieve this by stimulating direct demand and putting in place the sales architecture and data capability to scale within a competitive market.
‘While the macroeconomic outlook is still uncertain, our recent activity has given me confidence that the Mirriad solution is well positioned to respond to changing viewing habits and to provide value in what is a growing addressable market,’ the group noted.
‘The fundamental fact that audiences prefer the Mirriad format to other more disruptive advertising types, and the fact that it is proven to drive increased brand consideration, gives us a compelling competitive advantage at a time when broadcasters, content creators and distributors are all looking for new sources of revenue,’ it added in today’s statement.
“Thanks to our technology's ability to create new revenue opportunities whilst addressing established consumer aversion to interruptive advertising, we can offer more in-content opportunities to a rising number of advertisers and agencies, showing a clear pathway to scale in 2021 and beyond,” said Beringer.
He added, "The industry increasingly recognises the fantastic results our format delivers as we further develop the protected Mirriad technology that will ultimately define the in-content advertising space. With these factors considered, we are confident about the future growth of our proposition and business."
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