LBG Media plc, the Manchester-based online publisher that owns LADbible and other brands appealing to young readers, said revenue and profit rose for the latest six-month period.
The company, which is the largest publisher on Facebook, said it expects to report revenue up 55% to £42.3 million for the half year, and adjusted EBITDA up to £10.2 million from £3 million in the same period a year ago.
The growth was helped by its recent acquisition of Betches, which creates social media content primarily for young women, and campaigns for customers during the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament.
It said the global audience for its content rose to 493 million, up from 410 million a year ago.
“The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament has given the Group a number of opportunities to work with brands seeking to access our young adult audience, with notable campaigns including Euros-themed editions of the hugely popular original series of ‘Snack Wars’ sponsored by Uber Eats,” the company said.
Looking forward, LBG said the usual pattern of advertising revenue being weighted to the second half of the year would be less pronounced this year due to the Euros and the acquisition of Betches, which has a more even split of revenue.
It said recent changes at Facebook has created some volatility in its business of providing content that companies want to advertise next to, but said it was “confident in our business model and strategies to continue progress along our line of sight to £200 million of revenue.”
“Given the strong start to the year supported by the Group’s increasingly diversified revenue model, balanced by the volatility caused by the new Facebook commercial model, the Board remains confident in the outlook for the full year and that performance will be in line with market expectations,” it added.
Chief Executive Solly Solomou said: “It has been a strong start to the year as the business continues to make good progress along the line of sight to £200m of revenue. Performance in Direct and Web highlight the strength of our diverse revenue model and the operational changes in ANZ are delivering planned benefits, with further expansion of our partnership within the APAC region.”
“We have continued the integration of our US commercial teams to leverage early customer wins by presenting a ‘one stop shop’ for brands wanting to reach a diverse young adult audience. I am extremely excited by the opportunities ahead as our diverse revenue model and strong momentum position us well for continued success.”