UBC pins hopes on digital as it sinks into red
UBC MEDIA, the multimedia content provider, fell to a multi-million pound loss last year after writing down the goodwill value of its business by £3m.
In its annual results, posted yesterday, the Aim-listed company reported a loss of £3.6m, compared to a £59,000 profit last year, as revenues dropped by five per cent to £4.2m.
But UBC Media pointed towards its digital business as a source of growth, where revenues from mobile apps jumped by 108 per cent and income from its web streaming players increased by 61 per cent.
In a transition towards its growing digital business, UBC Media upped its stake in UK internet start-up Audioboo to 40.3 per cent after buying Imagination Technology’s stake in the audio social networking tool.
As part of the deal, Imagination now holds a 9.8 per cent stake in UBC Media, and the two companies yesterday announced a partnership that will see them handle the global licensing and sales of Radioplayer, the UK radio industry’s online media player.
UBC Media chief executive Simon Cole said: “This last year saw us having to work much harder simply to maintain our position.”
He cited “shrinking commission budgets from broadcasters everywhere, meaning that effectively production needs to increase just to maintain turnover.”
But he added the “explosive growth” in media devices and the new partnerships announced yesterday set the company up for “exciting opportunity on an international scale.”