Durrant Pate/Contributor

Digital media outfit iCreate Group is seeing light at the end of the tunnel, which manifested in its latest quarterly outturn in which consolidated revenues surged by 114 per cent to close on J$62.1 million over the comparative 2022 fourth quarter.

The main driver of revenue for the period is its Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising business segment. This improved fourth quarter resulted in the iCreate recording revenues of J$140.5 million for the year ending 2023, representing an increase of J$60.8 million or 76.4 per cent above the prior year.

During the last quarter, iCreate remained focused on streamlining the operations of all business units to achieve greater operational efficiency, which the Tyrone Wilson-led management hopes will lead to improved profitability in the medium term

Profitability

Net profit closed on J$12.4 million for the fourth quarter, an improvement over the loss of J$0.3 million recorded for the same period in 2022. However, the media company ended the year with net losses of J$137.7 million, compared to the net loss of J$46.8 million in 2022. This deterioration in the net loss position is due to Visual Vibe.com’s non-recurring acquisition costs that were accounted for during the year.

The audited financial results for the December fourth quarter shows that when these acquisition costs of J$107.5 million, plus the interest costs of J$17.4 million in relation to the vendor financing utilised in the acquisition, are excluded, the group’s normalised net loss was J$12.8 million.

As at December 31, 2023, iCreate’s total assets stood at J$706.1 million, which is marginally below the J$718.1 million for the comparable period in 2022. The 2023 figures include goodwill of J$509.8 million, generated from the acquisition of Visual Vibe.com Limited.

Positive outlook

The management says it remains focused on growth in revenue and cash flows from all member companies, as well as reaping synergies across the group. The strategy moving forward is to continue to grow the revenues of Visual Vibe.com, whilst expanding into new locations.

Wilson, in his report to shareholders, advised: “We will also embark on a programmed capital expenditure initiative, to improve the quality of our screens and the technology driving them. We have seen an opportunity to provide advertising via indoor screens and will continue to push this segment. We continue to streamline and strengthen our governance and internal processes and capabilities with a view to unlock our true potential and to realize our strategic objectives. “