EBITDA up by 37%, revenues on sales of services up by 34%, launch of a technically advanced platform to handle thematic services, development of mobile application and intensive work to finalize the launch of the Wirtualna Polska television project. The WP Group has summarized the first six months of its activity in 2016.
Business achievements
During the first six months of the year, Wirtualna Polska continued to implement the “MoViBE” strategy covering mobile, video, big data and e-commerce by developing products in these areas. The Company redesigned four of its services in accordance with the single-page app concept it adopted in the beginning of the year, involving development of modern websites combining the features of a mobile application, a website and social media elements. This solution offers, among others, fast loading of sites, use of big data mechanisms and dynamic content refresh. In the first half of the year, Wirtualna Polska also completed the migration of 70% of the active Poczta o2 users to a new e-mail system, which boosted the number of active users by almost 2%. At the same time, the WP Group undertook certain activities associated with the development of mobile products. Among others, it launched an application for the users of the migrated Poczta o2 accounts. In 6 months it reached nearly 50 thousand DAU (daily users) and 100 thousand MAU (monthly users). The company additionally focused on the finalization of activities related to the launch of the Wirtualna Polska TV. The work included, among others, development of the infrastructure necessary for in-house productions; most of the content has been purchased and a significant portion of the team has already been recruited. The station has also finished the work on its visual identity.
– We have several intense months behind us. It was a period of organic implementation of the “MoViBE” strategy. We focused on the optimum use of our resources and far-reaching product redesign.We have created a new technological platform, onto which we already moved some of our products, such as WP Kobieta or WP Gwiazdy, and several dozen others are to be transferred by the end of this year. As a result of the changes, we have observed a significant boost in user engagement – said Jacek Świderski, President of the Management Board of Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A. – We are in the final stages of work on launching our television and we are finalizing content purchases for our programme lineup; also, today we are presenting a new logo for the channel, which is a close reference to WP’s past achievements, company name and its mission; it shows that Wirtualna Polska is becoming an Internet and TV multimedia entity.
Financial results
The Group’s consolidated revenues on the sales of services rose by nearly 30% to PLN 101 million in the second quarter of 2016. Cash sales revenues of PLN 92 million were up 34% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The EBITDA earned by the Group was up by 36% to PLN 32 million while adjusted EBITDA climbed 28% to PLN 36 million when Q2 2016 is compared to Q2 2015.
Comparison of the Group’s operating results and financial position in the second quarter of 2016 with the consolidated results for the corresponding period of the previous year:
The Group’s consolidated revenues on the sales of services rose by more than 30% to PLN 189 million in the first six months of 2016. Cash sales revenues of PLN 171 million were up 34% compared to the sales revenues in the analogous period of 2015. The EBITDA earned by the Group was up by almost 37% to nearly PLN 57 million while adjusted EBITDA climbed 25% to PLN 61 million.
Comparison of the Group’s operating results and financial position in the first half of 2016 with the consolidated results for the corresponding period of the previous year:
Material events that took place in H1 2016
The following events in H1 2016 exerted an impact on the Group’s current operations: the concession decision made by the Chairman of the National Radio and Television Council for a subsidiary of Wirtualna Polska to disseminate a universal television program, finalization of the acquisition of TotalMoney.pl sp. z o.o., the owner of TotalMoney.pl, a leading financial shopping engine, acquisition of shares in Nocowanie.pl Sp. z o.o. and the extension of the available investment credit facility (by another PLN 50 million) designated to acquire companies and non-current assets, which is supposed to provide the Group with flexibility in the pursuit of its acquisition strategy.
WP Group highlights
The Group owns one of Poland’s two most popular horizontal internet portals called Wirtualna Polska. It also runs the o2 horizontal portal and numerous specialist vertical portals, including in particular a business portal: Money.pl; a sports portal, e.g. WP SportoweFakty, a new technology portal: e.g. Dobreprogramy; entertainment portals: e.g. Pudelek and WP Gwiazdy; health and parenting portals: abcZdrowie.pl and Parenting.pl; and internet radio stations: OpenFM and PolskaStacja. In addition, the Group runs advertising business offering lead generation for internet stores, mostly through portals that aggregate the offers of internet stores (marketplace), in particular Domodi and Allani in fashion, Homebook in the home and interior decoration category, Money.pl and Finansowysupermarket.pl in financial services and wakacje.pl in tourism and recreation.
The Group offers its users the possibility of using e-mail free of charge; it also conducts business on the Polish online advertising market offering its clients an extensive range of advertising products: modern display, including video advertising, advertisements distributed by e-mail, advertising for mobile devices and advertising based on a performance model.
Contact for the media:
Katarzyna Halicka, katarzyna.halicka@grupawp.pl, tel. 502 707 138
Maria Skoczkowska, maria.skoczkowska@grupawp.pl, tel. 502 707 232
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