illumin Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Total Second Quarter Revenue of $29.2 Million
illumin Self-Service Revenue up 61% YoY and Represents 30% of Total Revenue
Adjusted EBITDA Improvement of 11% YoY

(All monetary figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated)

/EIN News/ -- TORONTO, Aug. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- illumin Holdings Inc. (TSX: ILLM) (OTCQB: ILLMF) (“illumin” or “Company”), a journey advertising technology company that empowers marketers to make smarter decisions about communicating with online consumers, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Second Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Second quarter 2024 revenue was $29.2 million compared to $33.2 million in Q2 2023, reflecting a decline in managed service revenue and programmatic revenue, primarily in Latin America.
• illumin self-serve revenue was $8.8 million in the quarter, up 61% year-over-year and represented 30% of total revenue compared to 16% in Q2 2023. This growth was driven largely by new customer relationships.
• The Company onboarded 33 net new illumin self-serve clients during the quarter, resulting from sales initiatives targeting higher-spend customers.
• Second quarter 2024 gross margin was 48%, which was consistent with Q2 2023 and a mild improvement from Q1 FY 2024.
• Net revenue, or gross profit (revenue less media-related costs), for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 was $14.0 million, compared to $15.9 million in Q2 2023, reflecting lower sales.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $0.5 million, an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2023 despite the decline in revenue, which was primarily attributable to lower operating costs.
• Q2 2024 net loss was $1.0 million, compared to a net loss of $5.6 million in Q2 2023. This improvement was mainly due to lower operating costs, a net foreign exchange gain versus a loss in Q2 2023, and lower income taxes.
• On November 13, 2023, the Company commenced a new normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) to purchase for cancellation up to 4,330,226 of its outstanding common shares. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company purchased and cancelled 1,342,344 and 2,490,686 of its common shares under the NCIB at an average price of $1.64 and $1.65 per share, totaling $2.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively.
• In June 2024, the Company upgraded the trading of its common shares from the OTC Pink Market to the OTCQB Venture Market (the "OTCQB") in the United States, which is intended to provide shareholders and investors with improved accessibility, liquidity, and transparency on the Company.
  

Simon Cairns, illumin’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In the second quarter, we saw good growth both year-over-year and sequentially in illumin self-service, along with a good sequential increase in managed services. As we listen closely to customers who value our services, we believe there may be untapped potential in creating a complimentary portfolio of products and services including both self-service and managed services. Our rebuilding of the leadership team reflects our intent to be market responsive and focused on delivering results for our customers and performance for our investors.”

Mr. Cairns added, “Complementing this, we have been refining our sales activities, including honing our illumin self-serve go to market strategy. So, even while our sales and marketing spending fell year-over-year, our illumin self-serve revenue still grew rapidly as our sales efforts became more productive. We also continued to prioritize increasing our managed service sales efficiency, as we consider this to be an area with untapped potential. Together, we believe these actions will drive our long-term revenue growth and improve our profitability.”

Elliot Muchnik, illumin’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “As we have been carefully managing our expenses and reallocating our internal resources to areas where we see the most growth potential, we maintained our overall focus on operational discipline. This effort has contributed to a total operating expense decline of over 10% and an Adjusted EBITDA improvement of 11% compared to the same period last year. With our improved operating efficiencies, we are able to support a number of sales initiatives that should support year-over-year growth in the third quarter.”

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods ended:

(unaudited, in thousands of Canadian dollars)
		Three months ended						Six months ended
		June 30,			June 30,			June 30,			June 30,
			2024			2023			2024			2023
Net loss for the period		$	(1,014	)	$	(5,608	)	$	(2,152	)	$	(9,170	)
Adjustments:
Finance income, net			(469	)		(265	)		(975	)		(982	)
Foreign exchange loss (gain)			(556	)		2,403			(1,942	)		2,459
Depreciation and amortization			1,387			1,449			2,752			2,939
Income tax expense (benefit)			(491	)		166			(113	)		236
Share-based compensation			1,108			1,671			1,807			3,013
Severance expenses			10			205			100			248
Nasdaq-related costs1			313			444			736			957
Other expenses			227			-			316			-
Total adjustments			1,529			6,073			2,681			8,870
Adjusted EBITDA		$	515		$	465		$	529		$	(300	)

^{(1)  Nasdaq-related costs are listing fees and directors’ and officers’ insurance specific to the Company’s Nasdaq listing and have been reclassed below Adjusted EBITDA as they are not recurring.}

Conference Call Details:

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024
Time: 8:30AM Eastern Time

To register for the conference call webcast and presentation, please visit https://illumin.com/investor-information/earnings-call/.

Please connect 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be needed to hear the webcast.

A recording of the conference call webcast will be available after the call by visiting the Company’s website at https://illumin.com/investor-information/

Non-IFRS Measures

This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS Accounting Standard measures (“non-IFRS measures”). These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS Accounting Standards (“IFRS”), do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. We use non-IFRS measures including “revenue less media costs”, “revenue less media costs margin”, “Adjusted EBITDA” and “Adjusted Net Income (Loss)” (as well as other measures discussed elsewhere in this press release).

The term “revenue less media costs margin” refers to the amount that “revenue less media costs” represents as a percentage of total revenue for a given period, while the term “revenue less media costs” refers to the net amount of revenue after deducting direct media costs. Revenue less media costs is used for internal management purposes as an indicator of the performance of the Company’s solution in balancing the goals of delivering excellent results to advertisers while meeting the Company’s margin objectives and, accordingly, the Company believes it is useful supplemental information.

“Adjusted EBITDA” refers to net income (loss) after adjusting for finance costs (income), impairment loss, fair value gain, income taxes, foreign exchange loss (gain), depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, acquisition and related integration costs, severance expenses and adjustments to the carrying value of investment tax credits receivable. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company’s main business activities before taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed and prior to taking into consideration depreciation of property and equipment and certain other items listed above. It is a key measure used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the Company’s operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.

“Adjusted Net Income (Loss)” refers to net income (loss) after adjusting for non-cash items such as impairment loss, fair value gain, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, and foreign exchange loss (gain). The Company believes that Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company’s main business activities on a cash basis. It is another key measure used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the Company’s operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.

These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. We believe that securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers, and that these non-IFRS measures are relevant to their analysis of the Company.

About illumin:

illumin is a journey advertising platform that enables marketers to reach consumers at every stage of their journey by leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms and real-time data analytics. The Company’s mission is to illuminate the path for brands to connect with their customers through the power of data-driven advertising. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, illumin serves clients across North America, Latin America, and Europe.

Disclaimer with regard to forward-looking statements

Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, illumin does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

For further information, please contact:

	Steve Hosein Investor Relations Coordinator illumin Holdings Inc. 416-918-5647 investors@illumin.com	David Hanover Investor Relations – U.S. KCSA Strategic Communications 212-896-1220 dhanover@kcsa.com

Please note that the following financial information is an extract from the Company’s Condensed Interim
Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (the “Financial Statements”) provided for readers’ convenience and should be viewed in conjunction with the Notes to the Financial Statements, which are an integral part of the statements. The full Financial Statements and MD&A for the period may be found by accessing SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.

illumin Holdings Inc.
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(Unaudited; Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)

	June 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	51,584		$	55,455
Accounts receivable		26,707			32,136
Income tax receivable		3,186			3,301
Prepaid expenses and other		3,670			4,123
		85,147			95,015
Non-current assets
Other assets		65			63
Property and equipment		8,230			9,329
Intangible assets		8,376			7,618
Goodwill		4,870			4,870
		106,688			116,895
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		22,563			26,488
Income tax payable		571			717
Borrowings		113			131
Lease obligations		1,636			1,726
		24,883			29,062
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings		-			47
Deferred tax liability		665			1,001
Lease obligations		5,205			6,087
		30,753			36,197
Shareholders’ equity		75,935			80,698
		106,688			116,895

illumin Holdings Inc.
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(Unaudited; Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

	Three months ended						Six months ended
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenue
Managed service	$	14,351		$	20,127		$	26,111		$	37,076
Self-service illumin		8,750			5,429			17,129			7,602
Programmatic		6,103			7,634			10,916			15,007
		29,204			33,190			54,156			59,685
Media-related costs		15,244			17,309			28,571			31,327
Gross profit		13,960			15,881			25,585			28,358
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing		5,845			6,566			11,158			12,244
Technology		4,512			5,539			9,038			10,908
General and administrative		3,638			3,960			6,012			6,711
Share-based compensation		1,108			1,671			1,807			3,013
Depreciation and amortization		1,387			1,449			2,752			2,939
		16,490			19,185			30,767			35,815
Loss from operations		(2,530	)		(3,304	)		(5,182	)		(7,457	)
Finance income, net		(469	)		(265	)		(975	)		(982	)
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		(556	)		2,403			(1,942	)		2,459
		(1,025	)		2,138			(2,917	)		1,477
Net loss before income taxes		(1,505	)		(5,442	)		(2,265	)		(8,934	)
Income tax expense (benefit)		(491	)		166			(113	)		236
Net loss for the period		(1,014	)		(5,608	)		(2,152	)		(9,170	)
Basic and diluted net loss per share		(0.02	)		(0.10	)		(0.04	)		(0.16	)
Other Comprehensive Loss
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to net loss:
Exchange (loss) gain on translating foreign operations		(144	)		248			(308	)		(53	)
Comprehensive loss for the period		(1,158	)		(5,360	)		(2,460	)		(9,223	)

illumin Holdings Inc.
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited; Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023

		2024				2023
Cash provided by (used in)
Operating activities
Net loss for the period	$	(2,152	)		$	(9,170	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash flows
Depreciation and amortization		2,752				2,939
Finance income, net		(975	)			(982	)
Share-based compensation		1,807				3,013
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		(1,942	)			2,459
Income tax expense (benefit)		(113	)			236
Change in non-cash operating working capital
Accounts receivable		5,740				(1,190	)
Prepaid expenses and other		1,032				(1,164	)
Other assets		(2	)			(24	)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		(893	)			(5,437	)
Income taxes paid, net		(166	)			(121	)
Interest received, net		1,068				1,318
		6,156				(8,123	)
Investing activities
Additions to property and equipment		(1,042	)			(421	)
Additions to intangible assets		(2,465	)			(2,824	)
		(3,507	)			(3,245	)
Financing activities
Repayment of term loans		-				(4,411	)
Proceeds from international loans		-				304
Repayment of international loans		(65	)			(411	)
Payment of leases		(1,129	)			(1,691	)
Repurchase of common shares for cancellation		(4,033	)			(1,500	)
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options		4				-
		(5,223	)			(7,709	)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(2,574	)			(19,077	)
Impact of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents		(1,297	)			(1,197	)
Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period		55,455				85,941
Cash and cash equivalents – end of period		51,584				65,667
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash transactions
Adjustments to property and equipment under leases		(23	)			56
Unpaid additions (reversals) to property and equipment, net		(561	)			-
Unpaid taxes on share repurchases		(81	)			-