Sheffield’s Zoo Digital Group PLC expects sales of “at least” $27m over the first half of this year, up 42% year on year.
The company helps deliver licensed media content to global platforms and will hold its annual general meeting later today.
Chairman, Gillian Wilmot, explained that in North America, they’re witnessing a stronger move away from linear television.
“The streaming industry continues its transition following strategic realignments and the strikes of 2023. Recent months have witnessed the early stages of recovery as major US media organisations have enacted their plans to adjust for a future in which traditional linear television plays a diminishing role.
“While many productions that resumed following the strikes have since been completed and distributed to global audiences, changes made in the mix of content types acquired and capital allocation policies, which are more strategic in nature, will take a longer period to yield results and restore levels of industry output to those seen in 2022, particularly in Hollywood.”
On the company’s results, Wilmot added:
“Against this backdrop ZOO has seen a strong recovery in its pipeline over the first half of FY25 and expects to deliver sales in the period of at least $27 million, equating to a 28% increase over the equivalent prior year period and 42% up on the previous half. As previously stated, the Board expects EBITDA profit in the first half.
“Market participants anticipate the industry’s recovery continuing until late 2025 which is consistent with the indications ZOO has been provided by its customers.
“The Board continues to be confident that the changes arising from the realignment of ZOO’s major customers will, in due course, be favourable for the Group. These include accelerated transition to an end-to-end approach with fewer, more capable suppliers; an increasingly diverse mix of original international content with a shift to episodic over feature titles; and greater dependence on ZOO’s software platforms, all of which will be advantageous to the Group.”
Zoo expects its unaudited cash balance as at 30 September 2024 to exceed $2 million.
