Dublin and London-listed mobile content provider Zamano has reported pre-tax profits of €964,000 for the first six months of 2014, compared to €984,000 for the same period a year earlier.
The company said first-half sales totalled €8.71 million, as against €9.02 million a year earlier. However, sales were up more than 24 per cent compared to the previous six months.
Zamano, which develops mobile-based marketing and customer service products, said gross profit also declined slightly from €2.53 million last year to €2.38 million for the six months ending June 30th. It attributed the margin decline to the fact that it has expanded third party sales in the business to business area in the UK, which carries a lower margin.
Ebitda declined by €203,000 compared to the first-half of 2013, which the company said waas largely as a result of costs associated with the launch of its ‘Messagehero’ product.
Irish sales for the first half of 2014 totalled €1.74 million, compared to €2.17 million for the same six-month period last year. Gross profit was down from €661,000 to €508,000. It said the decline in business resulted from the introduction by ComReg of a new code of practice in the middle of 2012. The company said that while the extent of the decline in sales slowed during the six month period, conditions remain challenging.
UK sales for the six months ending June 30th were €6.42 million, up 15.3 per cent on the same period last year. This translated into a gross profit contribution of €1.81 million, a rise of 10.3 per cent on the corresponding figure a year earlier.
Sales in other territories totalled €548,000 compared to €613,000 in the first half of 2013. The company reported a ‘stellar performance’ in Australia where sales were significantly ahead due to the successful roll-out of a new marketing campaign.
"The group continues to invest in product development and is firmly focussed on identifying acquisition, investment and joint venture opportunities in the UK and Ireland in order to accelerate the growth of the business," said Zamano's chief executive Ross Conlon.
