With the seventh consecutive financial year closed off, Augustus remains optimistic to its current and future growth projections. After a record-breaking year, the company doubled its headcount and generated over $7.2m in revenue, surpassing its expectations with over a 50% increase from the previous year.
Dear Shareholders,
Overall, the 2022 annual results surpassed expectations. The business exceeded the intended 20% operating margin objectives, surpassing the set expectations by 8% while remaining on par with the total budgeted costs for the year. All in all, securing the company’s path towards its set 2022 – 2025 goals.
Contributing to this impressive annual growth, Augustus has been fortunate to capitalise on two significant regional events, from Expo 2020 Dubai and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022; Combined, these events have contributed to more than 20% of the total revenue for the year.
Content remains the largest revenue generator, attributing to 80% of the total revenue. Amongst the remaining 20%, audience advertising revenue continues to grow substantially. In part due to the success in the Saudi market, with the introduction of multiple shows, demonstrating a proven format that not only makes headlines but helped to convert the Saudi office into a content hub for platform revenue earnings.
The team continues to develop client conversions at scale, focusing on essential revenue generators, such as direct business. As a result, the year marked our highest volume of active clients since the company’s inception. With over 700 direct active clients and many more coming through agencies, direct business remains a significant part of the success story.
Over the year, the business rolled out several extensive campaigns for clients, from Dubai Expo 2020, Dubai Tourism, Majid Al Futtaim, to Anghami, Visa and adidas, which have contributed to revenue earnings growth.
Unexpectedly, for a year of considerable growth both in revenue and brand audiences, there were several highlights that helped the company achieve this:
Revenue:
- Content remained a priority focus to drive revenue while simultaneously pushing to improve other income streams.
- Audiences across the brands grew by over 1.2 million, supporting the supply and demand necessary for client conversion.
- Platform advertising revenue continued to perform with the introduction and strategic changes to the shows, specifically on Snapchat. While the distribution path across the other social channels remains relatively poor, recent numbers show a growth projection in the next fiscal year.
- Lovin expanded its revenue potential by launching new cities, from Doha, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, RAK and Cairo.
- Augustus acquired CAMPLUS Sports to further solidify Smashi’s involvement in local sports, signing the rights to stream the leagues of UAE Futsal, Volleyball and Handball.
Team:
- Five Directors were newly appointed, further building the senior management team, alongside the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer.
- The teams across the network continue to expand, whilst as a company, a focus remains on embracing diversity and gender equality.
- The expansion of an in-house tech team has helped to build greater assets for the company, including launching and improving the smart tv and mobile apps across the brands.
Download full report here: Augustus Media _ Annual Report 2022
