CentralNic 2019 report: revenue up 95% to USD 109.2m

CentralNic Group PLC (AIM: CNIC) announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic, commented: “I am delighted to report CentralNic Group enjoyed another record year in 2019, with 61% year-on-year growth of revenue, excluding the effect of acquisitions made during 2019. Including the four acquisitions made in the second half of 2019, revenues for the year were USD 109.2m, a 95% increase over 2018, taking the Group’s Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since it listed in 2013 to 73%. Adjusted EBITDA for 2019 was USD 17.9m, a 96% improvement on 2018, with margins and cash generation maintained year-on-year.

The Group trading in Q1 2020 was in line with our expectations, despite the global business restrictions to slow the progress of COVID-19. As some of our companies are considered critical infrastructure, our Group has a long history of being focussed on business continuity, which prepared us well for switching our staff to working from home while providing undiminished service to our customers.

“As a profitable provider of online subscription services with high cash-conversion and solid organic growth, we do not expect CentralNic to be severely affected by COVID-19, but we will continuously review our acquisition and financing strategy to ensure that we maintain stability and optimise our business strategies in the new global climate.”

Financial Highlights

Revenue up 95% to USD 109.2m (2018: USD 56.0m)
Recurring Revenues at 92% (2018: 90%)
Gross profit up 65% to USD 42.8m (2018: USD 25.9m)
Adjusted EBITDA* up 96% to USD 17.9m (2018: USD 9.1m)
Adjusted diluted EPS** up 43% to USD 6.81 cents (2018: USD 4.77 cents)
Cash balance at year end USD 26.2m (2018: USD 23.1m)
Net Debt at year end USD 75.0m*** (2018: USD 3.2m)
*Excludes impact of share-based payments expense, foreign exchange and non-core operating costs
** Adjusted for amortisation, share-based payments expense, foreign exchange and non-core operating costs
***Including prepaid finance costs

Operational Highlights

Significant client wins including .blog, the ccTLD .bh, MarkMonitor, ZDNS, and Automattic
Operational efficiencies and savings of c. USD 1m achieved through integration of earlier acquisitions.
Four further acquisitions strengthening our core offering, facilitating a strategic expansion into a new segment with the acquisition of Team Internet in December 2019
Augmented CentralNic’s market strength, with 45% growth of customer base

Post year-end events
Trading proves to be resilient to the global impact of COVID-19
Team Internet integrating to plan with strong fundamentals for FY19 and pleasing contribution to the Group for Q1 2020
Management restructure with new hires:
• Chief People Officer, Tracey Hickling
• Head of Reseller segment, Robbie Birkner

Q1 Trading Update**

Revenue of USD 56m
Gross profit of USD 17.7m
Adjusted EBITDA*** of USD 8.1m
Net debt of USD 76.8m****

**This is CentralNic Group PLC’s first Q1 trading update and consequently no prior year comparable is provided
*** See definition in Financial Highlights above
**** Including prepaid finance costs