70% growth in Q1 !!!
Consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter and full year 2019 was $1,851,590 and $7,432,245, respectively, compared to $2,005,479 and $7,487,784 for the comparison periods in 2018. The Company generated normalized EBITDA of $272,552 and $549,143 during the quarter and year, respectively, which was lower on a quarter over quarter basis. Investment into organic growth initiatives was robust throughout 2019, which included the hiring of new sales representatives, additional conference attendance and sponsorship, and the development of our customer pipeline. “These investment and business development initiatives have started to yield great progress early in 2020”, said Gary Moss, President and CEO of Yangaroo. “We are forecasting advertising sales growth, on a year over year basis, to be approximately 70% for the first quarter of 2020. A significant portion of the new business is related to the 2020 US Presidential Elections. This revenue is unpredictable as it relates to specific candidates who may change their plans at any time. As a result, we are treating this revenue as non-recurring for guidance purposes. Excluding this non-recurring political revenue, the underlying growth for the quarter is expected to be approximately 20%, generated by increased sales from existing clients and the onboarding of new clients”. Gary Moss added, “We plan to utilize the non-recurring revenue bump to accelerate some of our technology development efforts, ensuring we continue to deliver an industry leading solution for our clients. As a priority we are investing in the development of the Clearance Platform for Advertising, which is expected to be a key differentiator, providing our customers a solution for their workflow challenges as they relate to legal and administrative workflow in getting advertising to market. In addition to the growth in Advertising, we continue to invest in our Music and Entertainment divisions. We are working on innovative deals with labels, artists and radio in Canada, solidifying our market leadership in this area. We will launch our Canadian Content Certification Platform for Music this year, simplifying the workflow for labels, artists broadcasters and regulators. Finally, while we are pleased that 2020 has started strongly, the Board of Directors has also conducted a strategic review to explore options to accelerate growth, taking advantage of our strong balance sheet. As a result, we have commenced the process to explore acquisition opportunities. Initially, any acquisitions will be accretive to the core business. We will announce specific details related to any potential deal, as and when appropriate.” COVID-19 Update Yangaroo has shifted all employees to work remotely from home and has closed all its Canadian and US offices. As a result of the Company’s underlying technology, nature of operations, and ability to perform all work remotely, the Company’s operations are not impacted. Gary Moss added, “We continue to operate business-as-usual while prioritizing our employees’ and their families’ health and safety while also adhering to all government and regulatory guidelines.” Although there is no evidence to suggest that the operations of the Company have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are closely monitoring the impact of current economic and global uncertainties and the potential impact on our customers and our operating results. As such we are still expecting full-year growth in 2020, but will update the market accordingly if there are significant changes to this forecast. The Company recommenced the share buy-back program in early-January 2020. The share buy-back program has resulted in a total of 625,500 shares acquired and cancelled by the Company at a weighted average price of $0.13 / share for 2019 and an additional 361,500 shares acquired and cancelled at an average weighted price of $0.12 / share year to date 2020. Effective immediately, however, Yangaroo has suspended its share buy-back program to preserve capital due to COVID-19 uncertainty and to focus its resources on organic and non-organic growth initiatives. As at March 26, 2020, the Company had a cash balance of approximately $2.4 million (inclusive of $750,000 from its revolving loan facility).
And 20% growth excluding political. If that continues for a few more quarters, this will be a very nice year.