Proactive Investors - Media group Digitalbox PLC (LON:DBOX) said it expects to trade positively during what it described as the “all-important” fourth quarter as it told investors its Graphene Ad Stack is starting to gain traction.
The publisher of popular websites such as Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash, The Tab and The Poke, provided the commentary alongside its interim results.
"We continue to see gains being delivered by Digitalbox's highly-optimised Graphene Ad Stack. The technology has enabled us to outperform the digital programmatic ad market,” said chief executive James Carter.
“Despite the first half seeing an advertising downturn across the UK, our brands delivered session value trends ahead of these conditions.”
Revenues for the six months ended 30 June 2023 were down £700,000 to £1.2 million, while the group traded at a modest £100,000 underlying loss for the period.
More importantly, Digitalbox was sitting on net cash of £2.3 million at the end of the first half.
"It is well known that there are significant audience challenges across the industry with other companies in the sector reporting traffic reductions from Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and Digitalbox has not been immune to this,” said chairman Marcus Rich.
“We envisage that publisher operating models will change significantly as we move to a future where AI technology increasingly impacts the media space.
“The team have already started harnessing the power of these tools to deliver greater efficiency in production and greater reach through on-platform distribution.
“Through our existing social follower bases and those made available through other deals like our acquisition of assets from Social Chain, we remain confident we have a route to a significant on-platform existence."