Sparks

Dianomi’s half-year results show the frustrations of premium positioning in a slow market. While traffic levels across the inventory base have continued to build well (up 9%), the lack of confidence in the market from advertisers has meant soft demand, particularly in programmatic and in video, and a small reduction in revenue per click, resulting in group revenues dipping by 4%. There is a good prospect for improvement into the fourth quarter though, with the inherent seasonality coupled with the potential for higher advertiser spend over the US elections. The group has a strong balance sheet with net cash and is operating on a lower cost base after last year’s operating cost reduction programme. This should give Dianomi increased operating leverage as advertiser demand rebuilds, supplemented by its expanded partnership with Dow Jones and its more recent test engagement with a leading financial news aggregator in the US.