Omnifone reaches first profit as music streaming takes off
DIGITAL music streaming provider Omnifone yesterday reported its first profit since it launched nine years ago.
The company, which has launched music services for Sony and BlackBerry phones as well as its own Rara operation in the last year, said revenue had more than doubled to £29.5m in the year to May as it posted earnings of £3.8m.
Chief executive Jeff Hughes attributed the “fantastic momentum” to faster internet services and the explosion in smartphone ownership, and said Omnifone plans to expand into new markets and make more acquisitions after recently buying Swedish online music firm Global Mediabank.
“The growth of smartphones, connected devices and the availability of high speed connectivity has led to an increased demand for cloud-based music services, opening up a land grab opportunity for the digital music industry,” Hughes said. “Our sights are set on new market expansion, business development and market consolidation.”
British spending on music streaming services such as Spotify will rise 42 per cent this year while physical sales fall 30 per cent, according to figures from Strategy Analytics.