ANT boosts 08 revenue by 30%, cuts losses in half
ANT plc, provider of software and services to the digital media industry, reported a 29% increase in revenue to £3.7 in the year to end December, while pre-tax losses were halved to £1.0m, of which £0.6m was due to favourable currency movements.
Chairman Royston Hoggarth said: "2008 saw a significant increase in our licensing business, with our licensees continuing to ship in increasing volumes.
"As a result, the Group has been able to report results ahead of market expectations.
"I am particularly pleased with the way the business has been able to manage its cash during the year which enabled us to end the year with cash of £5.6m.
"We are a high margin business servicing a long term growth market and our software, which has been designed specifically for the TV market, has achieved significant market share that we are looking to grow. Our business model is robust and we look forward to delivering another year of progress."
The company's share price rose 4% on the news, boosting market capitalisation to around £6.3m.
Cambridge-based ANT said that the evolution of digital media markets continues to drive significant change and disruption to the traditional modes of delivering media.
Worldwide, consumers and providers are increasingly embracing the opportunities that digital media services have to offer and this momentum is growing, the company said. The consumer electronics and technology market continues to anticipate these new services and has ensured that home devices are ready to adapt quickly to the changing habits of the consumer, whether that is to store, share, watch now/later, recommend or interact with the abundance of content that is increasingly becoming available.
Units shipped in the year from ANT licensees increased by 56% reflecting a general broadening of the Group's shipping customer base and a more than doubling to 9 of the numbers of licensees shipping more than 100,000 units. However, royalty income was broadly unchanged year on year as there was a substantial reduction in advance royalties booked as part of the licensing deals signed during the year. This was offset by an increase in royalty income from licensees who had already exhausted their advance royalty payments.
