Shares in Blinkx (BLNX) have nosedived since January, when a Harvard professor harangued the online video-advertising business in a highly-publicised blog post. These first-half figures, which show the group swinging from a double-digit operating profit to a $9.8m (£6.2m) operating loss, are unlikely to lift sentiment.
Blinkx, which develops ad-driven video campaigns for the likes of Disney and McDonalds, has suffered lingering reputational effects from the excoriating blog post. But its losses also reflect a strategic shift away from display advertising towards the explosive growth areas of mobile, video and automated ad trading. For example, Blinkx's latest solution lets advertisers and publishers conduct video, social and interactive campaigns across desktop computers, mobile devices and 'smart' TVs. Mobile now accounts for a fifth of Blinkx's sales - up from just 1 per cent last year.
Blinkx augmented its digital media library with new content from Buzzfeed, Hallmark and others. It also acquired Lyfe Mobile, which owns a real-time ad-trading platform and can deliver targeted adverts to consumers based on their location or the local weather. Blinkx also partnered with TV ratings agency Nielsen to measure and verify its online traffic - one of the aspects of its business criticised in the blog post.
Broker Numis Securities expects Blinkx to post a full-year pre-tax loss of $5.8m, giving a loss per share of 1.45¢, before breaking even in the year to March 2016.
| BLINKX (BLNX) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 28p | MARKET VALUE: | £113m | |
| TOUCH: | 28-29p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 235p | LOW: 26p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 63¢* | NET CASH: | $115m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 112 | 10.8 | 2.1 | nil |
| 2014 | 106 | -9.7 | -3.0 | nil |
| % change | -5 | - | - | - |
*Includes intangible assets of $114m, or 29¢ a share £1=$1.59 | ||||
