Cellcast News
Trading Update
2nd June 2006
Cellcast plc (AIM:CLTV), a global interactive digital broadcaster, today provides a trading update for its current financial year ending 31 December 2006.
The recent changes to the listings of channels by Sky Digital (altering the location of the Company's channels on Sky's Electronic Programme Guide ‘EPG') and the delay in revenues arising from some of the Company's international investments has had a negative impact on the Company's performance. The Board anticipates that the market forecasts for the current financial year will not be met.
Turnover for the year is expected to be below market expectations as a result of the delays in the revenues from the Company's international projects. However, turnover in the UK is robust and is significantly ahead of the same period last year but profitability has been impacted by the EPG reorganisation which has created scheduling inefficiencies and has made navigation difficult for the regular viewers of the Company's programmes.
As a result the Board anticipates that the Company will show a loss before tax for the current financial year. This revised expectation does not take into account any possible earnings from its programmes on the Freeview platform as it is too early in the implementation process to assess what these might be.
The Board has already taken positive steps to address the issue of Sky Digital's EPG reorganisation. The Company has introduced new formats, redeployed bandwidth and has increased marketing of all its channels to help viewers locate them on the EPG. In addition, the Company has reduced production costs as well as operating expenses which will provide significant cost savings going forward.
Despite the reduced expectation for the current year the Board remains confident of the growing international and domestic demand for the Company's proprietary products and services which is already proven in multiple markets. For further information:
Cellcast plc |
|
Andrew Wilson, CEO |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7190 0300 |
| andrew@cellcast.tv | www.cellcast.com |
Daniel Stewart & Company Plc |
|
Lindsay Mair / Marc Young, Corporate Finance |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 6550 |
Media enquiries:
Abchurch |
|
Henry Harrison-Topham |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700 |
Notes to Editors:
Cellcast plc
Cellcast plc is a leading international provider of participation television applications and interactive mobile content in the fast-growing multi-platform digital entertainment sector. Headquartered in London, with associated operations in Paris, Beirut, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires, Cellcast's applications and programming are distributed on the Sky Digital platform in the UK and broadcast partners include Canal+ in France; STB in Ukraine; Future TV, Dubai Television and Rotana TV in the Middle East; Zee TV and Star TV in India; TVS-3 in China; Telefe in Argentina; and TeleAmazonas in Ecuador.
Cellcast's revenues streams are independent of both advertising and subscription fees. With a network of revenue sharing agreements with telecommunications carriers and aggregators across five continents, Cellcast receives a share of the call revenue every time a consumer uses a mobile or fixed-line phone to participate in its interactive entertainment, revenue which is retained or shared with its broadcast partners. Cellcast's programme formats and proprietary Interactive Platform (CIP) also facilitate delivery of content to mobile phones, the internet and broadband-delivered IPTV. This enables viewers to continue participating in a programme away from the TV, generating 24/7 revenue opportunities. In May 2006, Cellcast announced the launch of a range of new interactive entertainment services on Freeview's digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform in the UK which included a breakthrough in interactive TV technology.
Cellcast plc joined the AIM market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange on 21 September 2005.