AcuityAds Reports Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

TORONTO, ON; NEW YORK, NY, AUGUST 8, 2017

Revenue increased 146% to $17.3M with Positive EBITDA

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2017 /CNW/ – AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSXV:AT, OTCQB:ACUIF) (“AcuityAds” or “Company”), a technology leader that enables advertisers to connect intelligently with audiences across video, mobile, social and online display advertising campaigns, today announced its second quarter financial results for the period ended June 30, 2017.

“We are very pleased with our second quarter results as we continued to see revenue growth in both the self-serve and full-serve segments of our business,” said Tal Hayek, CEO of AcuityAds. “I am also delighted to report that the integration of Visible Measures, the analytics-led video advertising company we acquired at the end of March, is on track and delivering incremental wins as a result of our enhanced value proposition. Furthermore, our newly combined team and superior technology assets have played a significant role in meeting our key objective of continued revenue growth while remaining EBITDA positive.”

Second Quarter Financial Highlights

Total revenue for Q2 2017 increased 146% to $17,265,803, compared to $7,006,538 in Q2 2016. Total revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $28,792,570 as compared to $12,209,185 for the same period in 2016, representing an increase of 136%.
AcuityAds grew its Self-Serve partner base by adding 44 new platform partners in Q2 2017. Total partners of the Company’s SaaS-based Self-Serve programmatic platform now stands at 237 compared to 103 at the end of Q2 2016. The number of platform partners that spent greater than $5,000 in the quarter totaled 66 compared to 44 in Q2 2016.
Self-Serve revenue for Q2 2017 increased 86% to $5,929,566, compared to $3,195,204 in Q2 2016 and represented 34% of overall revenue compared to 46% in the same period last year. Self-Serve revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $12,237,318 as compared to $5,855,685 for the same period in 2016, representing an increase of 109%.
US revenue for Q2 2017 increased by 341% to $10,655,260 compared to $2,414,167 in Q2 2016. US revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $15,404,745 as compared to $3,678,993 for the same period in 2016, representing an increase of 319%.
Revenue less media costs (gross margin) remained strong at 50% for Q2 2017 compared to 53% for the three months ended June 30, 2016.
The Company posted Adjusted EBITDA of $589,786 in Q2 2017 compared to an Adjusted EBITDA of $195,549 in Q2 2016, an increase of 202%. Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $776,835 as compared to $114,371 for the same period in 2016, representing an increase of 579%.
Comprehensive loss for Q2 2017 was $1,063,628 compared to a comprehensive loss of $420,791 in Q2 2016. Comprehensive loss for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $2,343,753 as compared to $921,782 for the same period in 2016. The major increases in the comprehensive loss were attributable primarily to one-time acquisition related costs and non-cash charges for share-based compensation, depreciation, amortization and foreign exchange charges.
As at June 30, 2017, the Company’s cash and restricted cash balance was $2,042,046 compared to $3,049,172 at the end of June 30, 2016. The reduced cash balance for the three months ended June 30, 2017 reflects net cash used to acquire Visible Measures Corp. of approximately $3.0 million and acquisition-related earn-out fees of approximately $1.4 millionattributed to 140 Proof, Inc. In addition, while Visible Measures delivered the working capital prescribed for in the Purchase Agreement, many of its accounts receivables were quite current, while many of the accounts payable were overdue and required a net payment in excess of $2.0 million in the quarter. We expect this will normalize over the next few quarters.

Other Matters:

The Company granted an aggregate of 130,000 stock options to employees in accordance with the provisions of the Company’s Stock Option Plan, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Each option entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $4.47. The stock options granted are vested annually over 3 years.
The Company also issued an aggregate of 12,250 Deferred Share Units (“DSUs”) pursuant to the Company’s Deferred Share Unit Plan to the independent directors of the Company, in lieu of quarterly cash compensation. In addition, an aggregate of 8,600 DSUs were issued to officers and executives of the Company for long term incentive compensation.

About AcuityAds:

AcuityAds is a technology company that enables marketers to connect intelligently with their most meaningful audiences through digital media. A Self-Serve programmatic marketing platform, powered by proprietary machine learning technology, is at the core of its business, accompanied by a patented solution for mobile targeting that leverages social data. AcuityAds empowers marketers by offering transparency on costs and brand safety, and real-time reporting and analytics, bringing accountability to programmatic advertising to deliver business results.

AcuityAds is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with sales offices in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and London, England. For more information, visit AcuityAds.com.

Disclaimer in regards to Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, AcuityAds does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE AcuityAds Inc.

For further information: Babak Pedram, Investor Relations, Virtus Advisory Group Inc., 416-644-5081, bpedram@virtusadvisory.com; Tal Hayek, Chief Executive Officer, AcuityAds Holdings Inc., 416-218-9888, tal.hayek@acuityads.com