Vizrt Reports 2008 and Q4 2008 Results
Double Digit Revenue Growth to USD 98.0M
Bergen, Norway, February 27, 2009, Vizrt Ltd. (Frankfurt Prime Standard, Oslo Main List: VIZ) today announces its results for the financial year ended 31st December 2008 and Q408.
Total Revenue: USD 98.0M, an increase of 13% compared to USD 86.5M in 2007.
EBIT: USD 14.8M, compared with USD 16.7M in 2007.
EBITDA: (excluding taxes, interest, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets and stock-based compensation) USD 21.0M, compared with USD 21.9M in 2007.
Net Profit: USD 13.7M, compared with USD 16.0M in 2007.
Earnings per diluted share: USD 0.21 compared with USD 0.25 for 2007.
Cash status: USD 45.0M (including cash and short term deposits) down from USD 48.0M as of December 31, 2007. During 2008 the company generated a total of USD 16.4M from operating activities, and paid USD 15.0M in cash as part of the Escenic acquisition. Additional USD 3.1M were invested in fixed assets.
Outlook
Bjarne Berg, President & CEO, stated: "Although we are pleased with our double digit growth, we did not see the usual end of year spending and as a result fell somewhat short of the guidance we provided at the beginning of the year. That said, we still managed to post a 30% growth in our MAM business on a full year basis as well as a 6% growth in BG and are well on track to digest yet another major acquisition."
"Going forward, uncertainty seems to be the operative word in the markets today. We don't think we can fully escape this uncertainty and hence find it difficult to provide a definitive outlook for the coming quarters. The signals are mixed; very volatile currencies, lower advertising revenues and declining newspaper markets, all factors that are boosting the fear factor. Where organisations already have a technology solution, as is often the case for broadcast graphics, investments decisions seem to be postponed. On the other hand, many broadcasters and media houses seem - to some extent at least - to stick to their investment plans. Furthermore, elections, big sports events and a general boost in news ratings (more viewers follow the news in troubled times) as well as the inevitable need to move from a tape based workflow to a digitized workflow, requiring investments in MAM technology, are all expected to be business drivers for us. Additionally, a number of bigger tenders indicate some significant spending towards the second half of the year. Finally, though the newsapaper market has been hit hard, we do see that traditional media houses are considering to use TV style production methods. Our increased physical presence in a number of markets generally tends to pay off after six to twelve months, and combined with an increased recognition of our integrated products, we expect stronger growth in this segment to come through towards the end of 2009."
FOR THE FULL Q4 RELEASE INCLUDING TABLES AND CEO PRESENTATION PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINKS AT THE END OF THIS MESSAGE.
A conference call will be held at 11:00 (CEST) today to offer analysts, investors and media the opportunity to directly discuss the results and recent developments with Bjarne Berg, CEO, and Ofra Brown, CFO of the company. Please use one of the following dial-in-numbers: +44 20 7111 1258 (UK), +47 2156 9640 (Norway), +49 69 2222 7436 (Germany). Participant Pass Code: 590053.
Media and investors contacts:
Bjarne Berg
President & CEO
+47 9055 7711
bberg@vizrt.com
Ofra Brown
CFO
+47 5351 8040
ofra@vizrt.com
SCHWARZ Financial Communication
Frank Schwarz
+49 611 1745 398 11
schwarz@schwarzfinancial.com