Global expansion and strong demand for mobile advertising and entertainment drove a 28 per cent increase in operating profit at InternetQ (INTQ) last year. The company, which owns music streaming service Akazoo and mobile marketing platforms MobiDialog and Minimob, has been targeting emerging nations where smartphone sales are still ramping up. The strategy seems to be paying off.
Last year it acquired Germany's Atlas Interactive for its mobile payment technology and global customer base. That contributed to a 45 per cent increase in revenues from Asia, the Middle East and Africa last year, to €58m (£48m). It also bought Latin America’s Interacel, which helped sales there soar to €9m, practically from a standing start.
Both InternetQ's consumer and business segments performed. Revenues from Akazoo grew 80 per cent, driving a 40 per cent increase in consumer revenues at the group level. Meanwhile, Minimob was downloaded over 100 million times last year, boosting business-to-business sales by 43 per cent to nearly €88m. These gains didn't come cheaply, however: InternetQ's capital spending soared 82 per cent, and sales and distribution costs rose over 60 per cent to nearly €43m.
Following the results, broker Canaccord Genuity raised both its price target and EPS forecast by about 5 per cent, to 510p and 33.2¢, respectively.
| INTERNETQ (INTQ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 390p | MARKET VALUE: | £152m | |
| TOUCH: | 390-392p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 410p | LOW: 255p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | 20 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 211¢* | NET CASH: | €4.7m† | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009** | 17 | -1.1 | na | na |
| 2010** | 37 | 3.0 | na | na |
| 2011 | 50 | 3.3 | 8 | nil |
| 2012 | 73 | 6.9 | 18 | nil |
| 2013 | 104 | 9.0 | 24 | nil |
| % change | +42 | +31 | +33 | - |
*Includes intangible assets of €54.9m, or 141¢ a share †Includes restricted cash of €0.5m **Prior to flotation £1 = €1.21 | ||||
