Brightcom Group announces strong FY 2021-22 results, recommends significant dividend

Press Release

• 01-06-2022

Brightcom Group (NSE: BCG | BSE: 532368), the AdTech major, has announced its audited financial results for the quarter ended 31st March, 2022 and the annual results for financial year 2021-22.

The Highlights

• The company reported a strong year, with Consolidated revenues of Rs. 5019 crores and PAT of Rs. 912.2 crores for FY22. Fourth quarter revenues were Rs. 1240 crores and PAT of Rs. 223 crores.

• Consolidated revenues rising 75.8% YOY and PAT rising 88.86% YOY. Notably, EBITDA also rose to 69.78% YOY. 

• Company's Return on Equity (ROE), on an annualized basis has reached 17.23 % approximately. We are focussed on improving this key ratio substantially. 

• We achieved an operating Free Cashflow of Rs 287 crores for the year FY22. We are looking to meet the 500 crores FCF mark by the end of the June quarter. 

• The Board has decided to payout a significant amount of Rs.60.54 crores as dividend, to reward its shareholders. This represents a dividend payout ratio of around 7%, which compares extremely favorably with global tech companies, such as Nvidia (dividend payout ratio of around 4.5%) to Apple, which has a dividend payout ratio of around 14%.* 

• Improving Free Cash generation is a critical financial target for management. 

• This quarter, the company added: - 28 new publishers - 7 new Ad agencies - 12 new direct advertisers - 10 new newspaper relationships for our local news platform 'Blocal' exchange.

Hyderabad, May 31, 2022: The Board of Brightcom Group has met to take stock of fourth quarter & year ended FY 2021-22 earnings of the company. The Revenues have surged forward to all time high standing at Rs. 5,019 crore, leading to a higher Net Profit at Rs. 912 crore.

The overall performance was impressive owing to increased consumer usage of digital media and digital channels to conduct commerce across the world, post the pandemic. Filtering technologies across the industry have reached a steady-state, cutting down the spurious traffic, thereby contributing to higher eCPMs (effective Cost per Impression).

The company is excited to announce that in order to reward our shareholders further, we have recommended a significant amount of Rs. 60.54 crores as dividend payout, which represents a dividend payout ratio of around 7%, which stands above in comparison with global tech companies.

We signed a letter of Intent to acquire Digital Audio company to improve our Audio advertising footprint in the US. The Due Diligence of the same on finances and Legal side just got completed. Legal agreement work is in progress.

We achieved an operating Free Cashflow of Rs. 287 crores for the year FY22. We are looking to meet the 500 crores FCF mark by the end of the June quarter as slated in the earlier communications. Improving Free Cash generation is a key financial target for management.

Update

• In January, we launched Blocal Exchange: Our Blocal news audience exchange incorporates brands into a local, familiar community that users recognize and trust: https://blocal.news This matters, considering that in the US market, local news media was still seen as a top source for local politics and Coronavirus info. 

• In January, Brightcom became a pre-bid member: As part of the initiative, we want to share why Prebid is considered as a unifying, open-source solution for Publishers and SSPs. 

• In February, 2022, we launched Brightcom Video Player: Our custom engagement-based instream and outstream video player provides you with a smart & innovative solution to boost publishers' site Revenue. 

• In February, B-Finance was launched: Brightcom’s financial news portfolio that provides buyers with direct access to high-income, attentive audiences. 

• In April, Compass platform was relaunched with newer features: Compass is an inhouse video and display platform designed and developed to offer an end-to-end solution that enables our publishers to maximize yield by monetizing their media across all their devices. 

• In April, we announced partnership with Intent IQ: We signed up with Intent IQ's bid enhancement service to better identify IDs in a cookieless climate will leverage and maximize monetization for the company's publishers' portfolio. We are expecting significant increases in targeted revenues in such environments by up to 30%. 

• In April, our new office was opened in Berlin: We opened an office in Berlin, in line with its focused growth strategy for the EU region. With this, the company now has 25 offices worldwide. This office will be led by Daria Oshry, VP of Publisher Solutions for Brightcom.

Outlook

• We predict strong growth for the foreseeable future. 

• The top two services for digital marketing companies are: 

• 34% Social media marketing

• 29% Full-service digital 

• We feel confident, we have positioned ourselves well in the market and established our value to clients. 

• Top challenges facing agencies in 2022 all focus on driving growth. 

• 82% client acquisition

• 81% hiring

• 80% client retention

Conference call details 

Brightcom will host a conference call on Wednesday, June 01, 2022, at 04:30 pm Indian Standard Time to discuss the financial results. Call-in details will be available from the Investor Relations page of the company's website at: http://brightcomgroup.com/investors/

Brightcom Group is a leading global provider of comprehensive online or digital marketing services to direct marketers, brand advertisers, and marketing agencies. The Company is divided into three major divisions: (i) Media (Ad-Tech and digital marketing), (ii) Software services, and (iii) Future technologies. The Company's primary clients are end advertisers, agencies and publishers, but also include ad exchanges G networks.

The Company has 25 office locations and has 1700 employees and consultants worldwide. Brightcom client list contains some of the biggest names, i.e. Airtel, British Airways, Coca- Cola, Hyundai Motors, ICICI Bank, ITC, ING, Lenovo, LIC, Maruti Suzuki, MTV, PGG, Qatar Airways, Samsung, Viacom, Sony, Star India, Vodafone, Titan, and Unilever. Brightcom works with agencies like Havas Digital, JWT, Mediacom, Mindshare, Neo@Ogilvy, Ogilvy One, OMD, SatchiGSatchi, TBWA, and ZenithOptimedia, to name a few.

Brightcom Group’s global presence, including in the US, Israel, Latin America ME, Western Europe and Asia Pacific regions, positions us at the forefront of the digital landscape, enabling us to support partners in their efforts to leverage and benefit from current global trends.

For more information please visit www.brightcomgroup.com

Previous News