Ebiquity Share Discussion Threads

[cwa1] 19/2/2020 08:10

Solid Trading Update and favourable market reaction:-

19 February 2020

Ebiquity Plc



Pre-close Trading Update





Ebiquity plc ("Ebiquity" or the "Company"), a leading independent marketing and media consultancy, announces a pre-close trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2019, ahead of the preliminary results announcement planned for 26 March 2020.



Ebiquity's trading for the year ended 31 December 2019 was in line with the Board's expectations. Its performance in the second half of the year was consistent with the trend reported in the first half. The Group continued to experience good revenue growth in its Advanced Analytics, AdTech and Contract Compliance practices and to maintain tight control of operating costs although its Media practice revenue fell slightly compared to the previous year.



The Company's net debt as at 31 December 2019 was £5.8 million, compared to £7 million at 30 June 2019 and £28 million at 31 December 2018 (prior to the disposal of the Advertising Intelligence division). The significantly reduced level of the Group's net debt has provided greater financial flexibility to support future developments. These include the recently announced acquisition of Digital Decisions BV, which enhances the Group's digital media measurement and advisory services.



We believe that the announced closure of Accenture's media auditing practice highlights the need for independence in our sector and will provide opportunities for Ebiquity as the leading independent, global media consultancy to capture market share over the next year or so.



We remain confident that Ebiquity will be able to fulfil its potential and deliver improved performance in the medium term.



Alan Newman, Interim CEO, commented:



"We are pleased to have met expectations in the last year in terms of profitability and grown high potential areas of our business. We continue to re-engineer the business to deliver profitable growth and seize market opportunities that reinforce our position as the leading, independent global media and marketing consultancy, including those arising from the closure of Accenture's media auditing practice."

[russman] 04/2/2020 10:28

A more significant consolidation.

[russman] 10/1/2020 11:09

Too small bolt-on to make a significant impact.

[simon gordon] 08/1/2020 10:04

Digiday - 8/1/20:

Ebiquity tries to pivot via the acquisition of digital advisory firm Digital Decisions

After a tumultuous 2019 that included the abrupt exit of its CEO in the 11th month, media auditing firm Ebiquity is aiming to regain its traction with Wednesday’s acquisition of media management consultancy Digital Decisions.

The U.K.-based ad industry arbiter is trying to reinvent the largest part of its business — media auditing — around the activities of this consulting firm, originally launched in 2017. Through the deal, Ebiquity has plugged a gap in its portfolio, with the adoption of a monitoring and reporting service for online media that it had struggled to build on its own.

The acquisition is based on an earnout period, with Ebiquity agreeing to an upfront cash purchase for 100% of Digital Decisions’ shares, followed by three other payments. The upfront part of the deal does not add up to “several millions of pounds,” since Ebiquity lacks a massive war chest to dip into, said one executive with knowledge of the deal. Of the £26 million ($34 million) Ebiquity made from last year’s sale of its Advertising Intelligence unit Nielsen, a large portion was used to pay off debt. Yet the modest sum involved in Wednesday’s deal is more a reflection of the youth of Digital Decisions than its potential to grow quickly, the executive said.

Indeed, Digital Decisions, which has offices in the Netherlands and the U.K., will continue as a business within Ebiquity. Digital Decisions founder Ruben Schreurs is moving to New York to grow the unit’s presence in a U.S. market that has not been inclined to pursue benchmarking but favors monitoring and consulting.

For now, Ebiquity plans to pitch Digital Decisions’ services to its clients in a bid to kickstart its stuttering attempts to develop its capabilities in effectiveness measurement and reduce its reliance on procurement-led price benchmarking.

Ebiquity has a challenge. Auditing methodologies used by companies like Ebiquity are mostly — if not completely — focused on costs. The variables (from hidden fees to brand safety) that can affect the quality of digital impressions are so numerous that auditors and advertisers alike often resort to judging the effectiveness of media investments by the cost of impressions. But running audits this way gives a skewed view of digital campaigns because online media, unlike television, lacks the universal metrics that allow for valid like-for-like cost comparisons.

“We’re much more than an auditing business,” said Alan Newman, interim CEO of Ebiquity. “The deal for Digital Decisions helps to reinforce that we provide a range of different ways for advertisers to monitor and optimize their marketing spend.”

Already Digital Decisions managed to convince advertisers like Heineken and PepsiCo that it had a way to track and audit impressions.

Rather than benchmark the costs per thousand, Digital Decisions on a monthly basis pulls for advertisers reams of data from demand-side platforms, ad servers, ad verification platforms, media planning systems, analytics tools and other relevant platforms. The data is then “cleaned” and standardized by using an algorithm, so Digital Decision’s execs can make recommendations on the performance of media investments, based on trends they see. Advertisers pay an annual subscription fee for all the data and expertise. The business is more of a media monitoring service than a traditional auditing one.

Should advertisers buy into Ebiquity’s new spin on audits, then it could help stave off competition from smaller firms. After all, Ebiquity has 17 offices across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas, as well as Asia.

Ever since the transparency debate flared with the 2016 release of the Association of National Advertisers’s much-publicized report about undisclosed agency practices, smaller players have tried to profit from advertisers’ concerns by offering independent advice on how to understand their media investments. Consulting services currently in demand are focused on strategic advantage, growth and measurement. That’s a sobering predicament for Ebiquity, which makes most of its revenue by helping advertisers evaluate how their agencies buy ads through price benchmarks. In fact, over the first six months of 2019, Ebiquity’s revenue from those services decreased 3% compared to the period the year before.

“There was a lot of conflict between the local and global markets at Ebiquity, and it stifled attempts to develop new ways to track and monitor online media,” said a current company executive who also worked at Ebiquity during the tenure of the prior CEO, Michael Karg.


Ebiquity’s wounds have not been all self-inflicted, said one of its senior executives, who declined to be named. “Getting advertisers to move away from price-focused audits is a challenge because their whole procurement process is set up around those numbers,” he said.

Fixing Ebiquity’s problems with its media audit business hasn’t been for a lack of trying. The company developed tools, launched internal teams and made strategic hires throughout the four-year stewardship of the recently departed Karg. Ebiquity had plans as early as 2018 to find smaller businesses to acquire. Yet a mix of internal politics, infrastructure problems, the involvement of procurement-driven advertisers and the actions of regulators hamstrung Ebquity’s attempts to evolve its business beyond that of a traditional media auditing outfit and slowed its attempts to find acquisition targets. All these problems came to a head in November when Karg left the business.

To date, Ebquity has not replaced Karg. But buying Digital Decisions is a sign of how Ebiquity is moving forward.

“This should mark the start of a much-needed new approach to independent media evaluation in all channels, a move away from outmoded pool benchmarking and a convergence with advanced analytics,” said Nick Manning, the founder of consultancy Encyclomedia, who has financial interests in both Ebiquity and Digital Decisions.

[allonblack] 08/1/2020 08:24

Growth is back on the agenda and the company is in experienced commercial hands now.

[equitydev] 08/1/2020 08:07

Nice bolt-on acquisition by Ebiquity today. Indeed the Digital Decisions purchase appears to be highly synergistic in terms of offering the service to EBQ's existing customer base, particularly wrt advertising consultancy, advisory & contract performance monitoring

[russman] 15/11/2019 09:20

At least the numbers man is holding the fort.

[fillipe] 12/11/2019 17:26

allonblack - thanks for that info - I was wondering about the future, so as to speak.

f

[allonblack] 12/11/2019 16:34

Great to see change here at last. CFO ex Future Plc and Yougov plus Chairman very experienced too. If I look at Wilmington as a guide these kind of changes (CFO/CEO) in a good business can get the shares higher in short order.

[fillipe] 18/10/2019 08:48

I've changed my mind after reviewing the Edison note of 7th Oct and am lookimg to lay down some EBQ for brighter days ahead, following the recent weakness in the share price.

Previous buys in the 40p's have been very worthwhile for me and I'm happy to go down that road again.

I notice the quite recent CFO/Dir buy of 60k @ 49p, taking him up to 160,000 shares.

f

[fillipe] 17/10/2019 20:29

Nothing much to go for there at present.

f

[russman] 26/9/2019 09:08

Just treading water or streamlining as they call it. Needs to find some sales growth.

[allonblack] 26/9/2019 09:06

There is the air of operating leverage hanging around in this statement. Its kind of saying if the CEO would now put the prices up costs are under control and off we go. I sincerely hope the board is justifying its cost and the new office by asking the CEO regularly why arent prices going up and revs with them. Stock could be at a turning point.

[russman] 23/9/2019 08:29

Interims should give a clearer picture of current trading.

[eentweedrie] 20/9/2019 12:04

unable to buy any though...

[allonblack] 20/9/2019 11:27

Results next thurs and there was no trading statement. Also stock not falling mysteriously ahead of results. First time in a while thats happened. Who knows maybe the new Chairman and CFO have this thing back on track.

[russman] 30/7/2019 08:20

I cannot wait.

[fillipe] 26/7/2019 14:39

I notice the next results are just two months away.

EBQ are good at being consistent with the dates for their results, in which case for the Interims are 25th/26th Sept.

f

[fillipe] 26/7/2019 14:31

Today, EBQ reaching out to a recent past high of 57p, even on small.
One can only feel a warm glow on what this may run up to, given some half decent strong buying.

The lasts tp I saw was in May... 110p.

f

[russman] 13/7/2019 07:26

Still think there is a profitable business here.
But EBQ is yet to fulfil its potential.

[allonblack] 04/7/2019 09:51

Size buyers appearing. If the CEO delivers (big question mark so far) this stock should be 120. All it would take is a deal with google or even saying they are repricing and prepared to lose a few clients in the process. Easy stuff that has so far eluded them.

[russman] 03/7/2019 17:39

Still say wait for the results; disappointing performance so far.

[fillipe] 03/7/2019 12:20

EBQ - singing out loud!

f

[allonblack] 20/5/2019 20:58

Decent up move here. Can only think that means the CEO is about to go....