Isentia updated the market with earnings guidance yesterday and it also made a major announcement about the future of the business.
Isentia’s businesses for FY17 are expected to report as follows:
The Media Intelligence (SaaS/VAS) business is expected to report revenue of $141m, an increase of 4% YOY. ANZ is expected to report a revenue increase of 1% and in Asia, a revenue increase of 16%. Media Intelligence (SaaS/VAS) EBITDA (including corporate overhead) is expected to be $46m, a 3% decline YOY.
Content Marketing is expected to report revenue of $14.2m (down 30% YOY) and an EBITDA loss of $4.4m compared with an EBITDA profit of $3.6m in FY16.
As a result of the financial performance of King Content during FY17, Isentia has decided to fully write down the value of the business. This is expected to result in an impairment charge of $37.8m in FY17.
The King Content brand is being discontinued and its operations fully integrated into Isentia under the Isentia brand.
The company has closed the King Content New York and Hong Kong offices and will continue to service its US clients out of the UK and the Hong Kong clients out of Singapore.
“We have further cut the ongoing headcount in the content marketing business,” said the company.
The company also reported Isentia’s balance sheet remains strong. Net debt has declined to $51.7m as at June 30 2017 from $56.4m at December 31 2016.
FY18 initiatives and outlook:
Isentia CEO John Croll said: “While we are clearly disappointed with the performance of the business during FY17, particularly the King Content operations, the board and management remain confident in the market positioning and growth potential for Isentia.
“Our focus now is on leveraging our core business where we have a significant market share, and enhancing and broadening our products as we deliver the most comprehensive media intelligence and insights to our customers in FY18.”