Bango PLC

("Bango" or the "Company")

2023 Full Year Results and 2024 Outlook

Cambridge, UK, 08 April 2024 - Bango (AIM: BGO) today announces its full year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023 and provides an update on the outlook for 2024.

FY23 Financial Overview:

FY23 Operational highlights:

Outlook (unaudited)

Bango has delivered a strong first quarter, sustaining good momentum and growing in-line with the plan. We reiterate our guidance for the full year:

NewDeep Limited Joint Venture

Bango and NHN Corporation, the two shareholders of the NewDeep Limited joint venture have agreed that it is in the best interests of both shareholders to wind down the joint venture. And, to transfer the technology developed in the joint venture to Bango and NHN so both can use it without restriction in their respective core businesses.

Investor Presentation:

Bango is hosting a presentation, open to all existing and potential shareholders, at 10.00am BST today. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and register to join the call here:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/bango-plc/register-investor

Bango CEO, Paul Larbey, said:

"This has been a year of significant development for Bango. Our strategic focus on capturing the subscription bundling opportunity with the Bango Digital Vending Machine® (DVM) is seeing growing momentum, with a doubling of the customer base and a strong growth of 77% in Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR). Our technology is trusted by some of the largest companies in the world who rely on Bango to help them acquire and retain customers.

One major area of focus in 2023 was the ongoing integration of the acquired DOCOMO Digital business, which has materially accelerated our growth. The complexity of the integration was reflected in the low initial purchase price. The integration went well with all $21M of cost synergies realized. With the end of year integration challenges having now been identified and addressed, we have a clear pathway to deliver further operational and cost synergies in 2024.

We entered 2024 with increased momentum, a significantly expanded pipeline and a larger customer base providing clear growth opportunities. In Q1 24, we won 4 new DVM customers and exited the quarter with ARR of $11M.

The subscriptions market remains buoyant, with an increasing variety of services available beyond music and movies. As consumers add subscriptions in all aspects of their lives, it drives the need for a solution to manage these subscriptions and the opportunity for the Digital Vending Machine to become the standard industry platform for subscription bundling. With our product, partners and customers, the building blocks are firmly in place. In the year ahead, our focus is on driving DVM growth with careful control of costs, which, together with increasing long-term revenue visibility, gives us confidence in capturing this opportunity."

Notes:

The Annual Report, including full accounts, is available at, https://bangoinvestor.com/reports-presentations/, and will be sent to shareholders shortly.

¹ Transactional Revenue is revenue derived by charging a percentage of the retail price paid by the consumer and is made up of carrier billing, resale and e-Disti revenue share amounts.

² DVM, Bango Audiences & One Off Revenue includes all DVM license and support fees, revenue from Bango Audiences and one off fees including DVM set-up and change requests.

³Annual Recurring Revenue is the expected annual revenues to be generated in the next 12 months

based on contracted revenues recognized as at 31 December.

⁴ Net Retention is a measure of the retention and expansion of revenue from existing customers over a specific period and is calculated by dividing the ARR from existing customers at the end of a period by the ARR generated from those same customers at the beginning of the period.

⁵Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization, negative goodwill, exceptional items, share of net loss of associate and share based payment charge 

⁶Net debt is cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments less loans and borrowings.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for making this announcement on behalf of Bango is Paul Larbey, Chief Executive Officer.  

Contact Details:  

About Bango

Bango enables content providers to reach more paying customers through global partnerships. Bango revolutionized the monetization of digital content and services, by opening-up online payments to mobile phone users worldwide. Today, the Digital Vending Machine® is driving the rapid growth of the subscriptions economy, powering choice and control for subscribers.

The world's largest content providers, including Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) trust Bango technology to reach subscribers everywhere.

Bango, where people subscribe. For more information, visit www.bangoinvestor.com

Chair statement

2023 was a landmark year for Bango. In the first full year following the acquisition of DOCOMO Digital, the team was focused on both incorporating the acquired business into Bango and on strengthening our position in the fast-emerging subscriptions bundling market.   Measured by revenue growth, customer wins, market share gains, industry awards and product innovation, it was a successful year for Bango, with positive EBITDA returning - although slower than the market expected.

Paul's CEO report covers how the team was able to drive forward the core Bango business and in parallel how they implemented the substantial synergies arising from the DOCOMO Digital acquisition.  There were a few negative surprises, such as uncovering some additional costs associated with legacy business, which are more fully explained in Matt's CFO report. But, we also had positive surprises, including the quality of talent and experience we discovered in the expanded team.  

Revenue and market share in the payments business accelerated by 2 years due to the acquisition. The financial rationale for the acquisition started to bear fruit as the cost synergies kicked in, driving the return to positive EBITDA during the second half of 2023. The benefits of these synergy savings will increase as we move into 2024 and beyond. They will drive significant free cash flows from the established payments business, providing the basis for continued investment in the subscription bundling opportunity.

All of us have experienced the early stages of subscription bundling, perhaps adding a streaming video option to our mobile contract or adding a sport channel to our TV package. The broadly adopted streaming sports, movie and music channels are now being supplemented by more and more services targeting specific needs: lifestyle, education, productivity, home security, food delivery and health. Bango is experiencing rapid growth as an early market leader - with telcos as the primary distribution channel for bundled subscriptions. They see the trend towards customers selecting from an array of offers and services - super bundling - as key to growing revenue and retaining customers.

During 2023, the Bango Board therefore invested energy into evolving the strategy to build on Bango success with subscriptions and its strategic advantages.

The Board analyzed data from the success of early adopter telcos using Bango technology, and Directors were able to leverage their own networks and experience to get an independent assessment of the opportunity. In September, Darcy Antonellis, a veteran of the US media and technology industries, accepted an invitation to join the Board as a Non-Executive Director strengthening its go-to-market knowledge and customer understanding.

The strategy review confirmed that the position of Bango in the subscription bundling market is strong. The fast growing pool of subscription content providers coming to the Digital Vending Machine® (DVM) during 2023 were seeing success using telco super bundling. This in turn gave Bango competitive advantage and drove increasing interest from new telco customers. 

The Board concluded that to increase shareholder value, Bango should concentrate on enhancing its importance as a vital technology for the growth of subscription bundling.  The spearhead of this strategy is delivering content provider success through the telco bundling channel.

Bango is integrating its major technologies-such as cutting-edge APIs, subscription management knowledge, targeted marketing based on purchase behavior, and AI-driven cross-selling of subscription products into the DVM. This will enable customers to on-board faster, and to bundle, market and merchandize subscription products more successfully, supporting accelerated growth into this very large market opportunity.  

The Board also determined that it was prudent to carefully manage the pace of investment, given current market conditions. As migrations complete and the free cash flows from the payments business rise, a priority is to use these to build cash reserves, repay any debt and invest in the rapid growth around the DVM.

The market opportunity is vast, and ideally suited to a business like Bango with its unique, scalable and relevant technology, global presence and vendor independence.  The market for subscriptions in 2026 is expected to be worth over $600B for content alone. Subscriptions distributed through bundling partners - mostly telcos - will be 25 - 50% of that business (Source: Omdia, 23).

Bango aims to help content providers benefit from this significant market opportunity by expanding its early lead as the go-to platform for subscription bundling. The Digital Vending Machine will be an essential tool for content providers and resellers, capturing a large portion of this business.

This journey, while marked by notable achievements, has also reminded us of the importance of staying vigilant and responsive to the ever-evolving landscape in which we operate. Bango is intent on consistent execution and the delivery of its strategic milestones, and providing a rewarding journey for our customers, employees and shareholders.

Ray Anderson 

Chair

CEO statement

2023  was a pivotal year for Bango. While not without its challenges, the transformational DOCOMO Digital acquisition accelerated our revenue and market share growth by 2 years and we had continued success with our  Digital Vending Machine® (DVM™) product, winning increased market adoption.

A key area of focus in 2023 was the integration of DOCOMO Digital and realization of the planned $21M of cost synergies. While these were successfully achieved, additional costs ($2M in 2023 and reducing to $1M in 2024) were uncovered. However, these will be more than offset by additional optimizations that will be executed in 2024. Combined with a delay in customer launches, this impacted our year end profitability. With sufficient balance sheet strength and banking facilities, we remain well funded to see the business through to positive free cash flow. 

In 2023, we intensified our focus on the DVM product and the subscription bundling opportunity that the Bango DVM unlocks. Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) grew 77% to reach $8.8M at year end. The launch of the third tier 1 US telco announced in March 2024, adding an additional $2M.

Our focus was rewarded with 9 new DVM customer wins. This doubled the number of DVM contracted customers to 18 at the end of 2023, and our pipeline is stronger than ever.

Additionally, 33 more content providers signed-up to offer their subscription services in the Bango DVM, bringing the total to 93.  This extensive and diverse ecosystem of subscriptions services makes the Bango Super Bundling proposition highly attractive to new customers.

With the subscriptions market continuing to expand and clear momentum in the business, we expect strong growth for Bango in 2024, and beyond.

Digital Vending Machine

Market Opportunity

The subscriptions market is estimated to reach $600B by 2026 (source: Juniper, 2023), driven by an increasing variety of subscription services moving beyond music, games and movies to all aspects of our lives. Choice in streaming subscription services has never been greater. They have expanded further into learning, lifestyle, personal health, transportation, pet services, food, drink, insurance and even car purchases, all of which have introduced subscription-based offers.

Content providers and other merchants increasingly seek partnerships as a critical part of their subscriber acquisition strategies. Consequently, streaming services are now widely available as offers from third parties like telecommunications companies.

Analysts estimate that today about 20% of (telco) subscriptions are activated by consumers through these offers and bundles. That share is expected to grow to between 25% and 50%, depending on geography (Source: Omdia, 2023). Consequently, in a few years over $150B of subscription spending will be delivered through these partner channels. This is the market the Bango DVM serves - enabling subscription services to be distributed through channels such as telcos.

The Digital Vending Machine - the proprietary Bango technology that delivers subscription bundling at scale - is needed to enable this market to grow successfully and operate efficiently. Both content providers and telcos benefit from an industry-wide standard for subscriptions bundling, simplifying integration, subscription management, payments, consumer experience, marketing and merchandizing. The DVM standardizes the functionality needed to deliver subscription bundles, and provides industry-wide data insights that cannot be acquired through any other bundling solution.

Content Providers

In 2023, 33 new content providers added their subscription services to the Digital Vending Machine (DVM) bringing the total to 93 at the end of the year. Each of these content providers offers one or more subscription products to consumers via channels such as telcos through the Bango DVM. Streaming video (or Subscription Video on Demand - SVOD) services continue to be the dominant category offered via the Bango DVM, both in terms of subscription volumes and the number of content providers (44 out of 93 total). Alongside these, the variety and breadth of subscription services included in the DVM continues to grow, from gaming services such as NVIDIA GeForceNow to home delivery services including Walmart+, to premium social media subscriptions such as Snapchat+.

Digital Vending Machine Customer Growth

All DVM customers saw good growth over 2023 driven by a variety of factors:

The DVM license fee telcos pay to Bango is tiered, based on the number of subscriptions (not users) that the DVM manages. At the start of 2024, most larger telcos were still operating in the first large tier, but some smaller customers have now climbed beyond the first tier as demand rises, with one reaching their top defined tier and now paying monthly overage charges. Most of the license revenue growth so far has come from new customer launches. As these customers launch their DVM offers and the number of managed subscriptions increases, so the license revenue grows.

New DVM Customers

In 2023, we signed 9 new DVM customers including our third Tier 1 US telco, and a number of new deals were signed in Latin America.

The business model for DVM is different from Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) and has the following key features:

Bango Audiences

In 2023, I identified 3 areas of focus for Bango Audiences. Taking each in turn:

DOCOMO Digital Acquisition

We completed the acquisition of DOCOMO Digital at the end of August 2022. We said at the time the acquisition would accelerate our growth by 2 years and it has done exactly that. We have extracted the $21M of annualized cost synergies and when the platform migration completes, further cost savings will be realized as we continue to optimize the payments business.

We will continue to simplify the structure of the acquired business which was overly complex. This complexity was known and drove the very low purchase price (only $900k after deducting the cash in the business). It was also the cause of the end of year additional costs that we announced in the January 2024 Trading Update. Having now operated the business through a full Bango fiscal year, we are confident there will be no such surprises in 2024. There is further simplification of operating models, contracts and legal entities that will complete during the year.

Alongside the enlarged customer base,  an additional benefit of the acquisition was the availability of a skilled team with domain expertise. The two organizations are now fully integrated and acting as one Bango team, as evidenced in the continued, strong employee engagement score of 79%. This score is well above industry benchmarks and a pleasing result so soon after an integration that saw a significantly expanded team size. This team has played a key role in allowing us to increase our focus on the DVM across Bango, from engineering to marketing and sales.

Payments

Bango DCB continues to grow. In 2023, we launched both new content providers through existing routes and new payment providers. We expanded our partnership with TPAY to deliver new Google routes in the Middle East and Africa, from Egypt to Iraq. Looking forward, we expect further additional growth particularly in developing markets, but will focus only on new routes with significant potential ($M's of End User Spend) as we manage this business both for cash generation and as a source of new DVM opportunities.

2024 and Outlook

Our focus for 2024 is to deliver continued DVM growth. Growth will come from:

In 2024, we will continue to invest in the DVM product adding features and capabilities to help content providers sell even more subscriptions. The DVM CX consumer user interface will continue to evolve, enabling telcos to launch faster and allow more data to be collected by the DVM which will create a personalized experience for consumers.

Everybody in Bango is here to build the de-facto platform for subscription bundling. We made great progress towards this goal in 2023, delivering revenue growth of over 60% and generating a significant EBITDA increase in the second half. A combination of delayed revenue and some unexpected acquisition costs meant we missed the numbers shareholders were expecting in 2023. Therefore, our focus in 2024 is to demonstrate solid execution through the numbers we deliver, while we retain our primary focus of becoming the standard for subscription bundling - the place where people subscribe.

Paul Larbey

Chief Executive Officer

CFO statement

While Bango had to navigate some challenges at the very end of the year, 2023 was pivotal for Bango; the first financial period including a full year of trading post the acquisition of DOCOMO Digital and a step change in scale positioning Bango well for future growth. During the year revenue grew 61.8% year-on-year and 27.4% H1 to H2 FY23, highlighting the usual second half bias (44:56) from the increased activities around Amazon Prime events, Black Friday and Christmas and reflecting the increasing DVM transactions. Bango signed 9 DVM contracts in FY23 and the sales pipeline at the start of 2024 has seven times more opportunities in it than a year earlier. This revenue growth was achieved while still being impacted by the continuing strength of the US Dollar, in particular against the Japanese yen which, following the DOCOMO Digital acquisition, makes up an increasing percentage of Bango's revenue.

Bango completed the planned synergies ($21M annualized) following the DOCOMO Digital acquisition and continued the investment needed to drive the rapid development of the DVM and additional features. 

Bango revenue model

Bango continues to generate revenue from several streams. From FY23, these will be reported as follows to provide a more granular split :

Revenue, such as integration fees, is recognized on completion of contractual milestones or on a percentage of completion and after consideration of the requirements of IFRS15 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). Further consideration was also given to the separation between the integration fees and the subsequent ongoing platform license fees. It was judged, based on the contractual agreements, individual orders and discussions between customers and Bango, that these were two distinct revenue events.

Integration of DOCOMO Digital

Following the DOCOMO Digital acquisition, which completed on 29 August 2022, FY23 has seen great progress in the integration of the two businesses. The targeted $21M of savings have been achieved and routes, relationships and new customers have been added. Bango no longer approaches this as two separate revenue streams but has consolidated services, sales teams and marketing efforts to focus on one Bango product. This approach has been rewarded with closer relationships with customers as well as DVM opportunities that have originated from previous DOCOMO Digital customer relationships.

The robust due diligence undertaken on the acquired entities, with assistance from external advisors, identified the complexity of the DOCOMO Digital organizational structure which was reflected in the original low purchase price. Despite this, some new facts came to light as the business became more integrated, including some additional costs of sale related to the acquired DOCOMO Digital routes.

During the year, there was an adjustment made to negative goodwill of $3.8M relating to the fair value adjustment of a deferred tax assessment which is now not expected to crystallize.

Bango plans to complete the migration of routes and final integration activities during FY24 after which time it would expect operating costs to further reduce adding to on-going profitability.

Revenue and costs of sale

Total revenue from continuing operations increased 61.8% to $46.1M (FY22: $28.5M) despite the continuing effects of the strong US Dollar against the Euro and, in particular, against the Japanese yen, where revenue has increased significantly following the acquisition; the average JPY:USD exchange rate moved 9.3% between 2022 and 2023.

Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR), calculated by annualizing the December revenue derived from ongoing, contracted, repeating revenues, increased 77% from December 2022 to $8.8M (FY22 : $5.0M) at December 2023. The launch of the third Tier 1 US Telco (announced in 1H22), which was expected in Q4 FY23, has contributed an additional $2M ARR following its 1Q24 launch.

Bango has seen gross profit margins reduce this year to 86.0% (FY22: 90.6%), largely the result of some DOCOMO Digital  routes. Bango plans to complete the migration of these routes onto the Bango Platform during FY24, which will see gross profit margins returning to the 90-95% range once completed.

Operating expenditure of continuing operations

As anticipated at the time of the acquisition, administration costs increased to $44.8M (FY22: $30.3M) reflecting the first full year of combined business costs and before the full impact of restructuring activities is reflected. The largest area of cost arises from other expenses which increased to $11.0M (FY22: $2.0M). Increased costs within this area include Cloud platform costs and customer support with work already undertaken to reduce these next year.

Adjusted EBITDA* for the year has increased to $6.4M, (2022: $5.0M). This was below the market expectations following delayed revenues (c.$3M) and increased costs of sale from DOCOMO Digital acquired routes (c.$2M). After discussion with the auditors, unrealized foreign exchange costs ($0.9M) relating to an inter-company loan between pre-acquisition DOCOMO Digital companies were moved to reserves following IAS21. The additional costs of sale will continue at a reduced rate in FY24 and, internally, the inter-company loans are being addressed as part of a wider piece of work in FY24 to simplify the current Bango structure.

The share-based payment charge of $2.3M (2022: $1.6M) was again calculated using the Black-Scholes model. The share-based payments relate to the Bango share option program that enables all Bango employees to share in the growth in value of Bango. Share options are allocated to employees twice a year. It is a vital recruitment and retention tool in an increasingly competitive employment market. The increase over the prior year reflects the higher employee numbers following the acquisition.

As Bango continues to implement its capitalized R&D for commercial benefit, amortization and depreciation reflected this and increased to $9.1M in FY23 (2022: $6.0M).

Exceptional items 

Exceptional costs for the year of $3.9M (2022 : $11.0M) include the impact of the closure of the Net-M subsidiary in the year and the write-down of development costs incurred on the former DOCOMO Digital platform that would ordinarily be capitalized under IAS 38, but due to the planned migration to the Bango Platform, have been expensed. Costs related to unsuccessful attempts to secure a new office for Bango have also been included within exceptional costs.

Associate company

Bango and NHN Corporation, the two shareholders of the NewDeep Limited joint venture have agreed that it is in the best interests of both shareholders to wind down the joint venture and to share the technology developed in the joint venture to Bango and NHN so both can use it without restriction in their respective core businesses. The technology is particularly relevant to the Bango DVM.

The Bango share of the net loss from the NewDeep associate totaled $1.8M in FY23 (2022:$1.4M). No significant costs related to NewDeep are expected in 2024. Bango also decided to fully impair its NewDeep investment in FY23, resulting in a $2.8M non-cash cost recognized in the profit & loss statement within the share of net loss of associate.

Loss for the financial year and earnings per share 

The total loss after tax of $8.8M (2022 : loss $2.1M) includes the Bango share of net loss from the NewDeep associate of $4.6M (2022 : loss £1.4M). Exceptional costs of $3.9M (2022 : $11.0M), share-based payments of $2.3M (2022 : $1.6M), a negative goodwill adjustment $3.8M (2022 : $10.2M) and R&D tax credits from Bango investment in driving forward its technology of $1.4M (2022: $1.3M). This loss, though $6.7M higher than in the previous year, does include the impairment of the investment in the associate company, increased amortization of $2.9M as Bango uses its intangible investments and does not yet reflect the full impact of the synergy savings which will become more apparent in FY24.

Basic and diluted loss per share was 11.51 cents (2022 Basic and diluted loss per share : 2.81 cents). 

Statement of financial position

Net assets at 31 December 2023 decreased to $27.4M (31 December 2022: $31.4M). Bango continues its investment in intangible assets that form the core of the business leading to an increase from $27.2M to $37.7M. 

Cash, net debt and cashflow

Bango had cash, cash equivalents and cash held in short term investments of $3.8M at 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022: $12.7M), financing debt from leases of $2.8M (31 December 2022: $2.6M) and an external loan of $7.9M (31 December 2022: $nil). The external loan carries a fixed annual interest rate of 6 per cent with repayment in eight quarterly instalments commencing in September 2024, or earlier if Bango chooses. There is no early repayment penalty and the loan is unsecured. In connection with the loan, the provider has been granted 314,380 5-year warrants with a fair value of $285k, which have been capitalized against the loan, to purchase new ordinary shares in Bango at 202p each (the average closing share price over the 30 trading days preceding the agreement).

Cashflow saw an increase from operating activities ($4.7M; FY22 - negative $5.0M) prior to movements in working capital (negative $3.1M; FY22 - $10.8M). A significant level of investment in internally generated R&D as detailed below saw outflow from investing activities rise by $17.6M (2022 - $9.6M) which was supported by initial cash reserves and the loan from NHN in June 2023 ($7.9M)

Intangible assets

Intangible assets net book value increased $10.5M to $37.7M (2022: $27.2M) largely reflecting the increase in internally generated R&D ($17.6M; FY22 - $9.6M) from the investment in the DVM including base platform and advanced features to user interface development, together with core platform developments, data features and migration related R&D. Bango expects this level of investment to decline as the migration related work ends. Internally generated R&D is calculated in line with the principles of IAS38 and is based on data from timesheets related to key projects which are then amortized over 5 to 7 years, commencing upon deployment, with projects assessed in relation to their individual cash generation ability.

Liabilities

Overall current liabilities have remained fairly constant at $34M (2022 : $33M) although the split has seen an increase in other creditors in respect of amounts owed to content providers offset by reductions in trade payables, social security and other taxes and the restructuring accrual. Right of Use lease liabilities at 31 December 2023 have remained level post acquisition at $2.7M (2022: $2.6M).

Going concern

With continued high growth of the Bango Digital Vending Machine® and stable growth of the legacy payments (carrier billing) business detailed in previous sections, the Board believes there continues to be sufficient cash and resources to support further planned investments to drive sales growth and to continue the development of the platform and new products. In addition Bango has an overdraft facility with Barclays Bank PLC for £3.0M which was undrawn at the end of 2023.

For the above reasons and having taken into account the wider macro-economic effects, including foreign exchange and interest rate fluctuations, the Directors have concluded that the going concern basis remains appropriate.

Matt Garner

Chief Financial Officer

*Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization, negative goodwill, exceptional items, share of net loss of associate and share based payment charge 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income For the year ended 31 December 2023

(Loss) per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent

Basic (loss) per share                                                                                                              (11.51) c                   (2.81) c

Diluted (loss) per share                                                                                                           (11.51) c                   (2.81) c