ANT revenues grow, losses narrow as the way media content is viewed morphs
ANT, provider of software to the digital media industry, said revenue increased 61% in the first half of the financial year ended June 30th to £1.6m, while it narrowed operating losses by 50% to £1.01m.
The positive financial trends experienced in the second half of 2007 had continued into 2008, producing a significant 90% increase in unit shipment numbers to 1.51m, the Cambridge-based company said.
CEO Simon Woodward said: "The combination of faster technology, digital media and innovative new applications continues to revolutionise the way content is consumed by the viewing public.
"We are seeing a major increase in demand for digital products based on our technologies driven by a growing demand within the IPTV and broader digital media markets.
"We have maintained our sharp operational focus which has led to a significant reduction in operating losses and cash burn in the first half. With our market leading position and extensive customer base of leading set top box manufacturers, we are increasingly well positioned for the future in a market place that is projected to demonstrate significant growth in the years ahead."
ANT Technologies develops open-standards-based client software and applications for digital media across a range of consumer devices from TV set-top boxes and Personal Video Recorder/DVD players, to portable media devices such as personal computers and personal media players, regardless of content delivery platform.
ANT sees a media delivery market evolving in which broadcast and on-demand services will co-exist. Providers will blend their own and third party offerings to create differentiation and enriched service offerings. Analysts predict that these services will often be delivered through multi-service STBs, often referred to as "Hybrid" STBs, which are expected to account for over 30% of the world wide STB shipments in 2012.
The market responded well to the results, marking its shares up. It is now valued at almost £9m.
