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Internet “to be the most resilient advertising market in 2009″by Andrew Redfern @ 12th November 2008 2:09 pm Rambler.ru Rambler Media Ltd. (”Rambler” or the “Company”), operating one of Russia’s most popular Search Engines brands, today issues the following update on its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended 30 September 2008.
In summary Rambler’s revenue was 69% year-on-year and it predicts that the Internet will be the most resilient advertising market in 2009. Although Rambler is based in Russia some of the trends make interesting reading and could be applied to UK marketing industry. The summary of the full statement is listed below THIRD QUARTER 2008 * 67% year-on-year growth in third quarter like-for-like sales to US$19.5 million (Q3 2007, * Consolidated contextual revenue was US$13.1 million for the third quarter (Q3 2007, US$8.1million). Paid search revenues on Rambler went up by 41% to US$4.1 million (Q3 2007, US$2.9 million). Begun’s partner network contributed US$9.0 million, after elimination of intercompany sales, to consolidated revenue * Display / banner advertising went up by 77% to US$11.7 million (Q3 2007, US$6.6 million) * Consolidated EBITDA margin continued to improve to 21.3% (Q3 2007, 15%) * CAPEX was approximately US$0.5 million (Q3 2007, US$0.9 million) * Cash balance was US$19.5 million at 30 September 2008, excluding US$8 million held within Begun which was classified as an asset for sale. The Company has no debt service obligations NINE MONTHS 2008 * 71% year-on-year growth in nine month like-for-like sales to US$54.9 million (9M 2007, US$32.2 million) * Consolidated contextual revenue was US$36.3 million for the first nine months (9M 2007, US$12.4 million). Paid search revenues on Rambler went up by 53% to US$11.0 million (9M 2007, US$7.2 million). Begun’s partner network contributed US$25.3 million, after elimination of intercompany sales, to consolidated revenue * Display / banner advertising went up by 88% to US$33.4 million (9M 2007, US$17.8 million) * Closing headcount was 527 at 30 September 2008, excluding 199 employees at Begun (31 December 2007, 544 including 48 employees at Index20 and excluding 143 employees at Begun). Headcount excludes Index20 employees as a result of deconsolidation in Q2 2008. Last year’s closing headcount at 30 September 2007 was 515 including 35 employees at Index20 and excluding 116 employees at Begun. * Percentage of labour expense to revenue went down to 28% in 9M 2008 from 38% the year before * Consolidated EBITDA margin continued to improve to 18.7% (9M 2007, 8%) * CAPEX was approximately US$3.2 million (9M 2007, US$2.6 million) * Impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on 9 month 2008 results was immaterialas the appreciation of the rouble over the first six months of 2008 was offset by the devaluation of the rouble against the US dollar in August and September 2008 * Unique number of visitors to rambler.ru up 30% year-on-year to 36.7 million per month on average in the first nine months of the year (9M 2007, 28.2 million). In the third quarter, Rambler reached a peak of 38.1 million unique visitors in September, 27% igher than for the same month last year (September 2007, 30.0 million). * Average monthly page views reached 2.6 billion during the first nine months of 2008, up 16% from the same period of 2007. * Total search queries amounted to 748.3 million during the third quarter of 2008, up 25% yearon- year. * Total number of registered email accounts reached 41 million, up 72% year-on-year, with over 15 million active accounts, up 54% year-on-year. NEWS UPDATE In addition September 2008, Rambler announced the launch of “Rambler Kinozal”, a unique free video download service and the first of its kind in Russia. The new service, available at http://kinozal.rambler.ru/ , allows users to download high-quality, fully licensed videos free of charge and provides a basis upon which Rambler aims to develop video advertising on the Internet in Russia. In September 2008, Rambler launched “Rambler Friends”, http://friends.rambler.ru/, Russia’s new open internet platform and single point of access for users’ personal communication and social networking needs. “Rambler Friends” allows users to access the most popular blogs, email accounts and social networks from one place. In July 2008, Rambler completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% of Price Express,a leading Russian product comparison internet service. The acquisition received all required regulatory approvals and, as a result, the Company now wholly owns Price In July 2008, Rambler upgraded its internet catalogue and navigation system “Top 100″ in order to further enhance the accuracy and speed of its tracking statistics. “Top 100″ allows website owners to place a counter on their web property and calculate how any visitors they attract according to specific criteria. “Top 100″ is Russia’s largest catalogue, tracking internet usage traffic of hundreds of thousands of sites in Russia. Rambler Agreement With Google On October 23rd, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) issued a statement in which it refused to approve Google’s acquisition of 100% of Begun. Rambler is reviewing next steps and exploring strategic options that would strengthen its position in the Russian internet contextual advertising market. Rambler will retains its current 50.1% stake in Begun until further notice. In light of the current economic turmoil, the Company has started to witness a marked slow down in the advertising spend in Russia across all sectors, particularly since the last two weeks of October. The Company estimates that the slow down will continue through 2009. Due to the short lead time required to place ads on the internet, Rambler is unable to provide a specific forecast for the year 2009 at this point. Rambler, however, generates sales via a number of different product and sales channels which are affected to differing degrees. The purpose of this expanded commentary is to help investors and analysts interpret the underlying conditions. Display advertising sales have been the hardest hit. The Company has seen an adjustment whereby there were significant reductions in campaigns commitments over the last few weeks, across all sectors. Net positive bookings have however resumed, albeit at lower levels than originally planned for this time of year, up to 50% lower. Other direct and listing fee revenue are also seeing a slow down but at lower rates than for display advertising. For the full year 2008, Rambler expects to generate sales at the lower end of its guidance of US$100 to US$110 million. The slow down in advertising spend in Q4 2008 and in sales, particularly in display advertising, is expected to have a direct impact on BITDA in Q4, resulting in a lower than expected margin for the full year. The Group expects to break even at best in Q4. In response to the current operating conditions, the Group intends to introduce a significant cost reduction programme before the end of the year in order to adjust Rambler’s cost base with the objective of resuming progress in improving Rambler’s EBITDA margins in 2009. However, the Company continues to believe that advertisers will allocate an increasing proportion of their advertising spend online. The underlying dynamics of more Russian consumers coming online and online users continuing to increase their media consumption via the internet, is set to continue. Furthermore, continued growth in broadband connectivity tends to drive up consumers time on line. In longer established consumer internet markets, users get up to 25% of their media consumption online and the allocation of advertising spend to the internet is approximately 10- 15%. In Russia both these numbers are much lower with the advertising spend allocation to the internet approximately 3-4% of total spend. If advertisers want to engage with consumers they will have to advertise where they are. The Company therefore estimates that internet continues to offer strong relative growth opportunities in Russia and as a top internet brand, Rambler occupies a favourable market position. Commenting on the trading update, Rambler’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Opzoomer said: “I am pleased with the financial results our teams have delivered in the third quarter and nine months of 2008. Since last year, we have made remarkable progress in our ales organizations and in our product offering in the Russian internet market. We still have further improvement to achieve. However, faced with sudden and significant new uncertainties in the Russian advertising market, there will be a pause in our progress. We intend to take all necessary steps in our control to continue to improve our business, consolidate Rambler’s position as a leading internet brand in Russia, and resume progress in our earnings and cashflow”. Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Russia Anti-Monopoly Service Blocks Google on Ramblerby Andrew Redfern @ 24th October 2008 5:18 pm Rambler.ru Google has been blocked by the Russian Anti-Monopoly Commision on its purchase of leading Russian Search Engine. The press release on the search engine’s website commented “Rambler Media, operating one of Russia’s most popular internet brands, notes that the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has today issued a statement in which it refuses Google’s application to acquire 100% of Rambler’s contextual advertising company ZAO Begun (”Begun”).
Rambler continues to own 50.1% of Begun until further notice. The Company will provide a third quarter trading update in early November. Rambler Media is an internet media and services group which operates or has interests in leading Russian language internet brands including the original Russian internet homepage and search engine ‘Rambler.ru’, on-line newspaper ‘Lenta.ru’, product comparison website ‘Price.ru’, internet catalogue and navigation system ‘Top 100′, instant messaging service ‘Rambler-ICQ’, digital advertising agency ‘Index20′ and contextual advertising company ‘Begun’. Rambler Media’s shares are traded on AIM, the junior market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘RMG’. For more information on Rambler Media, visit our corporate website at ww.ramblermedia.com.” Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Rambler.ru Signs on With Netvibesby Andrew Redfern @ 17th October 2008 5:29 pm Rambler.ru The Partnership will give Russian users access to the Web’s largest library of widgets, allowing them to personalize their Rambler page Rambler Media Ltd. (”Rambler”), operating one of Russia’s most popular internet brands, today announces that, in line with its strategy to make Rambler.ru Russia’s leading open gateway to the web and favorite homepage.
The Company has signed an exclusive multi-year partnership with Netvibes, the leading widget and personalized startpage platform on the web, to power Rambler.ru’s new widget and customization services. Widgets are applications also known as plug-ins or modules that enable users to customize their personal internet homepage. Today, Netvibes is one of the Web’s largest widget distributors, serving more than half a billion widgets per month. Netvibes’ award-winning personalized startpage technology is localized for more than 150 countries and 80 languages, and powers Later this year, the next version of Rambler.ru will enable users to benefit from Netvibes’ innovative technology allowing its users to access the world’s largest library of widgets including email, RSS newsfeeds, social networks, photos, videos, games as well as powerful search features, all on one page. As part of the agreement, Rambler will have exclusive rights to install, All new widgets uploaded on Rambler by Russian-language users will automatically gain global distribution through Rambler’s partnership with Netvibes. New Rambler customization features are expected to include search; video search (Blinkx); video downloads (Rambler Kinozal); product comparisons (Price.ru); Russian news (Lenta.ru); instant messaging (Rambler ICQ); and top Russian media and news content. Mark Opzoomer, Rambler’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Our strategic partnership with Netvibes enables us to enhance the user experience by making Rambler.ru completely tailored for millions of individual users at once. Our new personalized tartpages give users full control over their daily digital lives and access to Russia’s best online content and search services all from a single, customizable page.” “Russia is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing Internet markets and we are proud to partner with Rambler Media, one of Russia’s most popular Internet brands. Key regional partners of this caliber enable us to better localize and distribute our widgets and personalized startpage technology to meet the myriad needs of all users around the world,” said Freddy Mini, Chief Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Rambler to Sell Begun to Googleby Andrew Redfern @ 21st July 2008 9:10 am Rambler.ru Russian Search Engine company Rambler Media announced that it has agreed to sell its contextual advertising company ZAO Begun (”Begun”) and related subsidiaries to Google.
Rambler currently holds 50.1% of Begun. The transaction will consist of Rambler buying the remaining 49.9% stake in Begun from Bannatyne Limited, affiliated with the Finam group of companies, immediately after which Rambler will sell 100% of Begun to Google subject to certain approvals and conditions precedent for a total cash consideration of US$140 million, of which US$69.9 million is attributable to Bannatyne, with customary closing adjustments. Rambler’s net gain from the disposal is expected to be approximately US$50 million after all direct costs associated with the transaction. Proceeds received in respect of the sale of its holdings in Begun will be retained by the Company for further investments and potential acquisitions in line with Rambler’s stated strategy. The Company’s net cash position after the ompletion of this sale is expected to reach US$100 million. The Company’s directors consider, having consulted with its nominated adviser, ING, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned. Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Begun is one of Russia’s leading search and contextual text based advertising services with local expertise, efficient sales systems and the number of its advertisers exceeds 40,000. Begun’s partner network includes over 143,000 Russian language sites. Mark Opzoomer, Chief Executive Officer of Rambler Media, commented: “Begun is an excellent business which can become even stronger under Google’s ownership. Google has the advertising technology and financial capacity to build upon Begun’s established advertising network in Russia. By working together, we aim to create superior growth for Rambler, better monetisation for our business and stronger value for our shareholders going forward. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Alexey Basov and his team at Begun. This is a positive event for Rambler and an important step in our ambition to best serve our users, advertisers and partners and successfully build Russia’s leading gateway to the web.” Alexey Basov, General Director of Begun further commented: “The entire industry will benefit from this transaction as there is a high potential for synergies. It brings together Google’s visionary technology and Begun’s six years of successful experience in building advertising and dealer networks and direct sales in Russia.” “Google is committed to giving Russian users, advertisers and partners the best possible service and experience,” said Mohammad Gawdat, Managing Director Emerging Markets, Google. “This agreement means more Russian users, advertisers and partners will get better search results and more relevant advertising.” Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, SEMPO accredited Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Rambler Signs Advertising Agreement With Googleby Andrew Redfern @ 21st July 2008 9:07 am Rambler.ru Rambler Media Ltd. (”Rambler” or “the Company”), operating one of Russia’s most popular internet brands, today announces that is has signed an agreement with Google to use Google’s search and contextual advertising technology through its AdSense for Search and AdSense for Content advertising programmes on www.rambler.ru.
Under the agreement, search queries made on Rambler’s home page Rambler.ru and through the Rambler Search function will be enhanced by Google. Rambler will display Google ads alongside natural search results. This agreement will allow Rambler to nhance user experience. Rambler will continue to operate its own brands, web properties and other advertising services. Mark Opzoomer, Chief Executive Officer of Rambler Media, commented: “Today’s agreement reflects Rambler Media’s strategy to improve our ability to serve our users, advertisers and partners in Russia. Through this agreement with Google, the world’s most opular search engine, we will offer Rambler users the best search available and generate superior monetisation from related adverts and sponsored links. As a result we will focus our search resources towards accelerating our development of key, vertical search businesses, (including product (price.ru), property and auto) and creating exciting daily media and entertainment services. This is a further step in our ambition to best serve our users, advertisers and partners and successfully build Russia’s leading gateway to the web.” “We are delighted to work with Rambler, an innovative and dynamic company in Russia. The agreement means together we can enhance Rambler’s web search with our technology and provide ads at rambler.ru” said Mohammad Gawdat, Managing Director Emerging arkets, Google. “This agreement illustrates our commitment to investing in Russia, where online advertising is currently experiencing rapid growth. We are very excited about the opportunity to deliver more relevant search and ads to users and provide advertisers and publishers with better advertising technology to help them succeed in their own businesses. And of course we look forward to working with Rambler.” Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, SEMPO accredited Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Rambler.ru takes 49% stake in price comparison site Price.Ruby Andrew Redfern @ 20th June 2008 8:44 am Rambler.ru Rambler Media Ltd. (”Rambler”), operating one of Russia’s most popular internet brands, has exchanged contracts for the acquisition of the remaining 49% of Price Express LLC (”Price Express”), a leading Russian product comparison internet service.
Rambler already holds a 51% stake in Price Express, which it acquired in January 2006. The transaction is expected to be completed in July 2008 upon regulatory approval. Price Express operates Price.ru, which provides price and product comparison tools designed to help online shoppers make the most cost-effective buying decisions. Price Express was one of the first online comparison companies to be launched in Russia when it was set up in 1997. Price.ru is currently the second largest price comparison site in Russia and generated revenues of approximately US$3.2 million in 2007. Price.ru will continue to be operated as an independent brand, but will be increasingly integrated into Rambler’s services. Mark Opzoomer, Chief Executive Officer of Rambler Media, commented: “The decision to increase our ownership in Price Express reflects our determination to continue to rationalize our product portfolio by either consolidating or divesting operations where we own less than 100%. This process will enable us to optimize our legal structure while focusing on the best services for our users and Would you like to know more about driving business from International search engines? If so, contact Hit Search, SEMPO accredited Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Top European search engine properties releasedby Andrew Redfern @ 7th May 2008 10:03 am Rambler.ru comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its ranking of the top search properties in Europe based on data from its comScore qSearch 2.0 service, which showed that Google Sites holds the leading position with more than 19 billion searches conducted in March, representing 79 percent of the European search market. “With nearly 80 percent of all searches conducted in March, Google is far and away the leading search property in Europe,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore. “However, we are seeing key local players show leadership in Eastern Europe where English is spoken less than in Western markets. With Russia’s online population now the fastest growing in Europe, it is likely that some of these local search engines will continue to gain traction and market share.” Eastern European Search Players Factor Prominently into Ranking Google’s top position was followed by eBay, which accounted for 3.1 percent of European searches. Russian search portal Yandex ranked third with 2.2 percent search market share, slightly ahead of Yahoo! Sites at 2.0 percent and Microsoft Sites at 1.9 percent. Two Polish properties, Nasza-Klasa.pl and QXL Ricardo also proved popular, with 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent shares, respectively. Another Russian property, Rambler Media, grabbed the tenth position with a 0.5-percent share. Top 10 European Search Properties 1) Google Sites In March, 221.2 million Europeans conducted 24.6 billion searches, averaging 111 searches per searcher. Searchers in Finland exhibited the heaviest search activity with 143 searchers per searcher, followed by Portugal (128 searches per searcher) and the U.K. (124 searches per searcher). Interestingly, Finland and Russia - two countries that share a border - showed the widest disparity in search intensity, with Russia, where Yandex led the search market, ranking at the bottom of the list with 78 searches per searcher, while Finland, a Google led search market, ranked at the top. European Search Overview- Country by Country Breakdown Country Unique Searchers Searches (MM) Searches Per Would you like to know more about Digital Marketing? If so, contact Hit Search on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible. Other Related Stories That May Be Of Interest:
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