Generated $27.5 million in Revenue and $4.4 million in Adjusted EBITDA
illumin Revenue Up 42% Sequentially to $7.4 million
Strong Cash Flow Generation Leads to Record Cash Balance of Over $100 Million
TORONTO and NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSX: AT) (Nasdaq: ATY) ("AcuityAds" or "Company"), the technology leader in consumer journey based advertising automation, today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. Unless otherwise specified, all amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Third Quarter 2021 Highlights
- Third quarter 2021 total revenue was $27.5 million, a 5.4% increase year-over-year, and an 11.3% increase on a constant currency basis. This revenue growth was achieved largely due to strong sequential revenue growth from illumin, which more than offset lower advertising spend partly related to supply chain disruptions from some of our legacy customers. Revenue growth was also aided by newer emerging verticals such as pharmaceutical, technology, automotive and direct-to-consumer brands.
- illumin third quarter 2021 revenue was up over 42% sequentially to $7.4 million, or 27% of total revenues in the quarter. On a trailing twelve-month basis, as of September 30, 2021, revenue from illumin totalled $17.3 million.
- Total Connected TV segment revenue for the third quarter of 2021 grew over 220% compared to the third quarter of 2020.
- Gross margin for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was 51.9%, in line with the same period in 2020.
- Net revenue or gross profit (revenue less media costs) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was $14.3 million, a 5.4% increase compared to $13.5 million for the third quarter of 2020.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $4.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to $4.0 million during the comparable prior year period, an increase of 9.5%. Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of total and net revenue was 16.1% and 31%, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12-month period totaled $22.2 million, a 58.8% increase from the comparable period last year.
- Net Income was $3.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, a 265% increase compared to net income of $0.9 million for the same period in 2020.
- Operating cash flow for the third quarter of 2021 was $9.5 million, an increase of 41.8% compared to operating cash flow of $6.7 million for the same period in 2020, driven by strong collections during the period.
- At September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $100.3 million, compared to $22.6 million as of December 31, 2020.
"We are very pleased to report another quarter of strong sequential illumin revenue growth, as this revenue stream continues to become a more significant percentage of our total revenue. I am incredibly proud that since the launch of illumin only one year ago, the Company has already seen cumulative revenue of $17.3 million from this innovative software offering. We also saw further signs of recovery this quarter in COVID-affected industries such as travel, leisure and entertainment. In addition, the Company generated very strong operating cash flow, which further strengthened our balance sheet. I want to once again thank all of our team members for their hard work and dedication without which this performance would not have been possible," said Tal Hayek, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AcuityAds. "As we look to the fourth quarter, based on our current pipeline, we expect to generate year-over-year total revenue growth and strong adjusted EBITDA."
Mr. Hayek continued, "On its one-year anniversary, the illumin platform continues to lead our future growth and is fundamentally transforming the programmatic advertising industry. illumin's sales grew over 42% sequentially during the third quarter and, as importantly, new Tier 1 clients grew 53% sequentially. This strong sequential Tier 1 client growth demonstrates the success of our efforts to engage with larger global brands and bodes well for further illumin revenue growth in the future. With the strong revenue and pipeline growth we have already achieved and the overwhelming positive feedback we continue to receive from clients, we expect illumin to finish 2021 on a strong note and continue to grow in 2022. We continue to put additional marketing, sales and product development resources behind illumin to not only extend our leading marketplace position, but also to enhance its long-term growth trajectory."
Tatiana Kresling, AcuityAds' Interim Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Despite global supply chain disruptions and their effect on some of our legacy customers, we were able to grow overall revenues on a year-over-year basis in the third quarter due to the rapid adoption of illumin in the marketplace. Company revenues grew over 11% on a constant currency basis, while net income grew 265% compared to the same period in the prior year. As a result of very strong operating cash flow generation in the quarter, our cash position grew to a new record of $100.3 million. We expect to generate substantial cash flow again in the fourth quarter, which will provide additional financial strength to execute on both our organic and M&A growth strategies in the years ahead."