Adwalker Interim Results
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
I want to be excited about these folks because they do a damn sight more for the mobile, high impact digital sector than anyone else (Pixman for example and Adscreens are far too quiet) but trying to get information out of them is like trying to get the proverbial blood out of a stone.
What amazes me is the number of digital out of home companies that are on UK’s AIM, who should be out there, singing from the roof tops instead seem like rabbits paralysed in the glare of oncoming headlights – folks are not going to buy and own their shares if they are not clearly communicated with!!
Anyway, for the six-month period ended 31 August 2007 Adwalker announced a nice increase in turnover €1,142,547 (2006 was €937,756).
Gross profits increased to €562,201 (2006 was €445,229).
They also completed a small fund raising round of UK PDS 930,000, before expenses, from a Placing of 62,000,000 new ordinary shares at 1.5 pence per share.
Adwalker were circumspect again about their Unilever Ice Cream deal (whoops, sorry, should I have mentioned it?), as they refused / were not allowed to mention it in their announcement. Instead in their words they said “Pilot underway of an interactive digital network on behalf of a blue chip Fast Moving Consumer Goods (‘FMCG’) company”.
Padraic O’Connor, Adwalker’s Chairman, said “The Group has made good progress in the first six months of this fiscal year resulting in an increase in turnover with a particularly strong contribution from our USA operation. In addition, the Company has made significant progress with the development and pilot of an interactive digital network for a blue chip customer and the Board believes the Company is well placed to build on the progress made to date.”
In my opinion it’s time that Adwalker stepped up their activities even more; their USA operation seems to be strong – they need to stop talking about their blimen’ appearance on the Apprentice though – and the business that they have won at Football Stadiums recently is really innovative and will be a good revenue earner (I think I am the only one who has mentioned it anywhere in the public domain).
Have they got the right folks on board who are passionate about the product and the company? Do they know what business they are in? YES I think so.
Should they franchise their activities (like Pixman) to get a wide EMEA audience (I am always asked about wearable mobile solutions when I present abroad). YES probably I would say.
I spoke to Simon Crisp about their growth prospects outside the UK (an area of specialisation and focus of mine of course) and he said “US clients are hungry for more information on our business and indeed we receive large amounts of requests in Asian markets every week. However, the torpor within European markets surprises us, we constantly hear about how advanced the UK is in terms of mobile adoption, digital, research etc but too many agencies and clients are holding back, there is still an element of “nobody gets sacked for booking a six sheet”.
Simon also made mention of the difference in attitude between the US and here when he said “Adwalker had an American retail client earlier in the year spend US 125k on a campaign and sell USD 250k’s worth of product directly from the Adwalker – these are the metrics that count but clients can’t improve ROI unless they test and test with enough budget to take a genuine long term view”
Definitions of torpor on the Web:
* a state of motor and mental inactivity with a partial suspension of sensibility;
* listlessness: inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energy
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