British interests hit Zamano results

DUBLIN-based mobile phone technology company Zamano recorded a pre-tax loss of €3.6 million last year, after one-off value writeoffs in two of its sterling-exposed subsidiaries.

The move surrounded its Red Circle and Eirborne Text Promotions subsidiaries, which are most exposed to the weak sterling given their business interests in Britain.

Excluding the writedowns, Zamano generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of just under €5m, which was up by 36% on the previous year.

Group revenue amounted to €41.4m, constituting annual growth of 68%.

Diluted adjusted earnings per share were unchanged from the end of the previous year at 4.6c.

The company is still cash generative and had positive cashflow of €3.9m at year’s end.

Although management is expecting another challenging year in 2009, chief executive John O’Shea said group revenue will probably only fall to around €36m this year with EBITDA going from €5m to around €4.5m.

“While 2008 was clearly a difficult year in the mobile content market and 2009 will remain challenging, analysts continue to point to medium-term growth in the overall market as users continue to consume more content on their mobile devices,” he said.

Zamano is most hopeful about its operations outside Ireland and Britain.

It entered the Spanish market at the end of last year and will begin operating in South Africa next month.

It is also building up a presence in the US, which Mr O’Shea said was “fundamental” to the company’s growth chances.

The company is looking to expand further and said it is continuing to test new geographical markets “to identify further regional growth opportunities.”