Half Year 2026 Digitalbox PLC Earnings Call

September 23, 2026

James Carter: Space. In a nutshell, Digitalbox is a pure play digital media company that focuses very much on digital delivery. We have a strategy to create and grow products through our existing model, that I will explain later, and transform properties that we acquire. At the moment, we have 11 assets that we operate, owned operated digital brands. We started off in the market with one, which was Entertainment Daily, and have grown out into quite well-defined areas, which we have labeled recently as our vertical strategy. In a simple sense, we publish great content that attracts audiences to go and visit our websites and consume that content, and we then monetize those visits through advertising impressions, typically through programmatic solutions. Just to run through what we are going to cover today. We have the first section I will take you through really the backdrop to which we have been operating in.

Speaker #1: In a nutshell, Digitalbox is a pure-play digital media company that focuses very much on digital delivery. We have a strategy to create and grow products through our existing model—and I'll explain that later—and to transform properties that we acquire.

Speaker #1: At the moment, we have 11 assets that we operate—owned, operated digital brands—which started off in the market with one, which was Entertainment Daily, and have grown out into quite well-defined areas. We've recently labeled these as our vertical strategy.

Speaker #1: And in a simple sense, we publish great content that attracts audiences to go and visit our websites and consume that content, and we then monetize those visits through advertising impressions—typically through programmatic solutions.

Speaker #1: So just to run through what we're going to cover today: we've got the first section, which I'll take you through—really the backdrop to which we've been operating in.

James Carter: We have the first section I will take you through really the backdrop to which we have been operating in. The media environment over the H1 of this year. Richard will take you through the detail of the financial results. The H2 of the presentation is really looking to how we can expand the business, and Jim will cover the detail there and I will then summarize in terms of looking to the future. First, let us look at the market backdrop we have been operating in. There has been much commentary about this, but increasingly, consumers are faced with two distinct journeys. Direct website journeys have come under pressure over recent years. The big tech players are increasingly trying to hold consumers within their walled gardens for longer.

Speaker #1: So, the environments, media environment over the first half of this year. Richard will take you through the detail of the financial results, and the second half of the presentation is really looking at how we can expand the business, and Jim will cover the detail there. I'll then future.

James Carter: The media environment over the H1 of this year. Richard will take you through the detail of the financial results. The H2 of the presentation is really looking to how we can expand the business, and Jim will cover the detail there and I will then summarize in terms of looking to the future. First, let us look at the market backdrop we have been operating in. There has been much commentary about this, but increasingly, consumers are faced with two distinct journeys. Direct website journeys have come under pressure over recent years. The big tech players are increasingly trying to hold consumers within their walled gardens for longer.

Speaker #1: So first, let's look at the market backdrop we've been operating in. There's been much commentary about this, but increasingly, consumers are faced with two distinct journeys.

Speaker #1: Website, direct website journeys have come under pressure over recent years, and the big tech players are increasingly trying to hold consumers within their walled gardens for longer.

Speaker #1: And that's a result of changing technology—AI answering consumer questions. It's a result of elevating on-platform video distribution above publisher distribution of content on the platforms, and a whole raft of measures which the big tech players are using in order to steal audience share.

James Carter: That is a result of changing technology, AI answering consumer questions, it is a result of elevating on-platform video distribution above publisher distribution of content on the platforms, and a whole raft of measures which the big tech players are using in order to steal audience share. It is one of the big factors we have to contend with, and it has been fairly significant, these changes, over the first 6 months of this year. Part of that battle that is taking place within big tech is being fought around who can hold or who can harness the best content on their platforms. In particular, Facebook and TikTok have been having an almighty battle over recent years. There is a big battle taking place as to who can harness the best creators in order to make their platforms as sticky as possible for users.

Speaker #1: So that's one of the big factors we have to contend with, and these changes have been fairly significant over the first six months of this year.

Speaker #1: Part of that battle that's taking place within Big Tech is being fought around who can hold, or who can harness, the best content on their platforms.

Speaker #1: In particular, Facebook and TikTok have been having an almighty battle over recent years, and there's a big battle taking place as to who can harness the best creators in order to make their platforms as sticky as possible for users.

Speaker #1: This has played out in the first six months of 2026, with a significant algorithmic change. And, fortunately or unfortunately, you can see—which is very useful for everyone looking at this chart—on April 2 or 3, the Meta data broke as a result of them changing this algorithm, we think.

James Carter: This has played out in the first 6 months of 2026 with a significant algorithmic change. Fortunately or unfortunately, you can see, which is very useful for everyone looking at this chart, on 2 or 3 April, the Meta data broke as a result of them changing this algorithm, we think. But you can see in the middle of the chart where the data drops to zero, an algorithm change was put forward into the whole of Facebook and other associated platforms that really enhanced the level of amplification given to creators. Just to explain the chart, the dark blue line is our follower reach that we are experiencing on one of our brands, and the light blue line is the non-follower reach that we are experiencing.

Speaker #1: But you can see, in the middle of the chart—where the data drops to zero—an algorithm change was put forward into the whole of Facebook and other associated platforms.

Speaker #1: But really, it has enhanced the level of amplification given to creators. So, just to explain the chart: the dark blue line is our follower reach that we're experiencing on one of our brands, and the light blue line is the non-follower reach that we're experiencing.

Speaker #1: And as you can see, after April 2 and 3, whilst our follower reach was retained, the amplification delivered via non-followers was crushed heavily, and in some instances that reduced our total reach on platforms by about 75%.

James Carter: As you can see, after 2 April and 3 April, whilst our follower reach was retained, the amplification delivered via non-followers was crushed heavily. In some instances, that reduced our total reach on platforms by about 75%. So a significant change we had to contend with there. Just to put some further context around how that advantaged, or gave a benefit of reach to some creators, this is Georgia Blue who vlogs in the entertainment space covering shows like Love Island et cetera. You can see there a total follower base on Facebook, below her image to the left of the screen, of 1,858 total followers on Facebook, 6,904 on Instagram.

Speaker #1: So, a significant change we had to contend with there. Now, just to put some further context around how that advantaged or gave a benefit of reach to some creators, this is Georgia Blue, who vlogs in the entertainment space, covering shows like Love Island, etc.

Speaker #1: You can see there is a total follower base on Facebook, below her image to the left of the screen, of 1,858 total followers on Facebook and 6,904 on Instagram.

Speaker #1: But as a result of these changes that were put through on April 2, if you look at the red box to the right, you can see how much reach she was given as an influencer or a creator, where 96% of her reach was coming from non-followers and just 4% from followers.

James Carter: As a result of these changes that were put through on 2 April, if you look at the red box to the right, you can see how much reach she was given as an influencer or a creator, where 96% of her reach was coming from non-followers and just 4% from followers. So that situation has been pushed through Meta systems from 2 April. It has changed since, but it has created quite a volatile situation where it is not necessarily working for Facebook, and we are seeing ongoing changes take place. We can see how this has worked for the biggest social brand, I think in the world, LADbible. It has been a gradual process how Facebook and Meta have down-ranked unoriginal content. When I say unoriginal content, this is most likely to be content that could be produced elsewhere, user-generated content.

Speaker #1: So that situation has been pushed through Meta's systems from April 2nd, and it has changed since. But it’s created quite a volatile situation, where it’s not necessarily working for Facebook.

Speaker #1: And we're seeing ongoing changes take place. We can see how this has worked for the biggest social brand, I think, in the world: Lab Bible.

Speaker #1: Now, it's been a gradual process how Facebook and Meta have downranked unoriginal content. When I say unoriginal content, this is most likely to be content that could be produced elsewhere—user-generated content, for example: a cat doing something funny, someone being offered £50 in order to allow someone like LADbible, and there are other operators that had that model as well, to share that video content.

James Carter: For example, a cat doing something funny, someone being offered 50 GBP in order to allow someone like LADbible, and there are other operators that have that model as well, to share that video content. As a result of that video content being duplicate, it has been heavily down-ranked within the algorithms that are in play amongst Meta in particular. This chart shows from 2024, the interaction per thousand followers from that period, which was running at 600 plus at its peak, and it is now down to a level of 20 or 30. So a massive reduction for this particular brand, and it is something that we have seen play out across all media brands, but not to such a severe extent as you are seeing here. Let us have a quick look at our trading. The dark blue bars are H1 2025. The light blue H1 2026.

Speaker #1: As a result of that video content being duplicate, it's been heavily downranked within the algorithms that are in play, amongst Meta in particular. And this chart shows from 2024 the interaction per thousand followers from that period, which was running at 600-plus at its peak, and it's now down to a level of 20 or 30.

Speaker #1: So, a massive, massive reduction for this particular brand, and it's something that we've seen play out across all media brands, but not to such a severe extent as you're seeing here.

Speaker #1: So let's have a quick look at our trading. The dark blue bars are H1 2025; the light blue, H1 2026. We started off the year, from an audience point of view.

James Carter: We started off the year from an audience point of view in reasonable shape. We expected audience decline compared to the previous year. But we were on track exactly within forecast over January, February, and March. However, April and May, you can see much more significant drops to the right of the chart in light blue. Overall audience for the period was down 28% for the first half of this year. Taking a look at the advertising performance. The dark blue again on the left shows our session values that we are generating in 2025 in the bars, and the advertising index for the UK markets in the charts below that. Two things really to point out here.

Speaker #1: In reasonable shape. We expected audience decline compared to the previous year, but we were on track exactly within forecast over January, February, and March.

Speaker #1: However, in April and May, you can see much more significant drops to the right of the chart in light blue. And overall audience for the period was down 28% for the first half of this year.

Speaker #1: Taking a look at the advertising performance, the dark blue again on the left shows our session values that we're generating in 2025 in the bars.

Speaker #1: And the advertising index for the UK market is in the chart below that. Two things really to point out here. One is, if you look at the chart in the lower part, the advertising index, you can see that H1 2026 was not as volatile, but it was certainly down as an average across H1 2026 compared to H1 2025.

James Carter: One is if you could look at the charts at the lower part, the advertising index, you can see that H1 2026, not as volatile, but it was certainly down as an average across H1 2026 compared to H1 2025. There were much more significant growth spikes in the previous year. However, if you look at our advertising performance in terms of session values, we have managed to grow the average session value that we are generating within Digitalbox by 20%. It is a fairly strong advertising performance in a, what I would call, really a stable market across H1 2026, but certainly not in growth. Let us see how that shapes up in terms of revenue. First quarter of this year, again, dark blue is 2025, light blue 2026. Revenue for the first quarter of the year was up, and we had a pretty strong performance.

Speaker #1: But much more significant growth spikes in the previous year. However, if you look at our advertising performance in terms of session values, we've managed to grow the average session value that we're generating within Digitalbox by 20%.

Speaker #1: So it's a fairly strong advertising performance in what I would call a really stable market across H1 2026, but certainly not one in growth. So let's see how that shapes up in terms of revenue.

Speaker #1: First quarter of this year—again, dark blue is 2025, light blue is 2026. Revenue for the first quarter of the year was up, and we had a pretty strong performance.

Speaker #1: And as you can see, the Meta changes really impacted our revenue generation from April onwards, where it's visibly down. Overall, we finished the half-year at around 6% down in revenue compared to H1 2025.

James Carter: As you can see, the Meta changes really impacted our revenue generation from April onwards, where it is visibly down. Overall, we finished the half year at around 6% down in revenue compared to H1 2025. Looking at where we are operating, the most recent data for the advertising markets, and this is the global advertising markets, for both all media and digital media, all media in light blue, digital media in dark blue. You can see that our primary markets, being the UK and US for audience, are in pretty rude health, really, in the sense that advertising spend per head is running at $735 in the UK and $915 in the US. There are some pretty powerful digital ad markets to be operating in, which is a positive. In terms of changes around short-form video content that we have seen over recent times.

Speaker #1: So, looking at where we're operating, the most recent data for the advertising market—and this is the global advertising market for both all media and digital media, all media in light blue, digital media in dark blue—you can see that our primary markets, being the UK and US for audience, are in pretty rude health, really, in the sense that advertising spend per head is running at $735 in the UK and $915 in the US.

Speaker #1: So there's some pretty powerful digital ad markets to be operating in, which is a positive. In terms of changes around short-form video content that we have seen over recent times, in 2023 the average person in the UK was consuming around 42 minutes per day of short-form video content.

James Carter: In 2023, the average person in the UK was consuming around 42 minutes per day of short-form video content, and that has grown by over 50% to 62 minutes per day in 2026. So a big change in behavior in terms of short-form video. Also looking more deeply into the advertising market, there has been a big change in how advertising dollars are spent. Increasingly, the branded content and branded content solutions market is growing ahead of the regular digital market. This comes in two forms, really. It comes in creator content being distributed and branded content being produced by websites and creative solutions to deliver for clients. The UK spend in billions here is around, in 2025, around GBP 3.5 billion actual. It is forecast to grow to about GBP 5.8 billion by the end of 2028.

Speaker #1: And that's grown by over 50% to 62 minutes per day in 2026. So, a big change in behavior in terms of short-form video. Also, looking more deeply into the advertising market, there's been a significant change in how advertising dollars are spent.

Speaker #1: Increasingly, the branded content and branded content solutions market is growing ahead of the regular digital market. This comes in two forms, really: it comes in creator content being distributed, and branded content being produced by websites and creative solutions to deliver for clients.

Speaker #1: The UK spend in billions here is, in 2025, around $3.5 billion, actual. And it's forecast to grow to about $5.8 billion by the end of 2028.

Speaker #1: So what we're seeing is growth ahead of the regular digital ad market through this route to advertising. A big issue for both tech companies and publishers to contend with over recent times has been the massive growth in content volume on the internet.

James Carter: What we are seeing is growth ahead of the regular digital ad market through this route to advertising. A big issue for both tech companies and publishers to contend with over recent times has been the massive growth in content volume on the internet. It has grown by 2.4 times since 2023 to 2026. With that comes a number of challenges, but one of them is obviously, it is increasingly important to stand out as a publisher in order to get your content to punch through. It is also a challenge for tech companies as they look to sift through and value the best content in order to push to their consumers on their platforms. Along with that comes a big trust issue, and trust in content, and whether it is actually true or not, is, we believe, becoming an increasingly important factor within consumer publishing. Here is an example.

Speaker #1: So it's grown by 2.4 times since 2023 to 2026. And with that comes a number of challenges, but one of them is obviously it's increasingly important to stand out as a publisher in order to get your content to punch through.

Speaker #1: It's also a challenge for tech companies as they look to sift through and value the best content in order to push it to their consumers on their platforms.

Speaker #1: And along with that comes a big trust issue. Trust in content—whether it's actually true or not—we believe is becoming an increasingly important factor within consumer publishing.

Speaker #1: Here's an example. And I won't say it's not a trusted brand—Google. I must say it probably is a trusted brand by most consumers.

James Carter: I will not say it is not a trusted brand, Google, I must say, probably is a trusted brand by most consumers. However, this on the left is from their discover feed about a week ago when I was scrolling through Google, and it announced Coventry City fires manager Frank Lampard. I thought, "Well, that is odd. I have not heard that anywhere." It does come with a little byline saying, "Generated AI, which can make mistakes." However, a few searches later, I could not find anything on Coventry Live. There was nothing on the BBC, nothing on The Telegraph, nothing on any websites with any credibility. I sought further information, and I found one page by some lone blogger on Facebook, who tended to be putting out all kinds of random football information.

Speaker #1: However, this on the left is from their Discover feed about a week ago, when I was scrolling through Google. And it announced, "Coventry City fires manager Frank Lampard."

Speaker #1: And I thought, well, that's odd. I haven't heard that anywhere. And it does come with a little byline saying, "Generated by AI, which can make mistakes."

Speaker #1: However, after a few more searches, I couldn't find anything on Coventry Live. There's nothing on the BBC, nothing on the Telegraph, nothing on any websites with any credibility.

Speaker #1: And so I sought further information. I found one page by some lone blogger on Facebook, who tended to be putting out all kinds of random football information.

Speaker #1: And clearly, here, they've influenced the algorithm within Google by putting out the announcement—the official announcement that is completely unofficial and untrue—which has skewed the Google algorithm.

James Carter: Clearly here, they have influenced the algorithm within Google by putting out the announcement, the official announcement that is completely unofficial and untrue, which has skewed the Google algorithm. Increasing occurrences of things like this is resulting in increasingly low levels of trust in unofficial sources. Here is another example that we looked at. We are probably all familiar with AI-produced examples of a tsunami bowling down Fifth Avenue in New York, cars being tossed either side of the road, et cetera.

Speaker #1: Increasing occurrences of things like this are resulting in increasingly low levels of trust in unofficial sources. And here's another example that we looked at.

Speaker #1: We're probably all familiar with AI-produced examples of a tsunami bowling down Fifth Avenue in New York—cars being tossed either side of the road, etc.

Speaker #1: But when the Nepal tragic floods happened a few weeks ago, you could see a real difference as this news was coming through, in how first-party creator or first-party witness content was given less watch time due to the quite simple fact that it was not to be trusted compared to the Daily Mail here.

James Carter: When the Nepal tragic floods happened a few weeks ago, you can see a real difference, as this news was coming through, in how first-party creator or first-party witness content was given less watch time due to the quite simple fact that it was not to be trusted compared to the Daily Mail here, where you can see the numbers scale much more quickly at about 3 times the rate. That will be self-fulfilling. Trusted brands that get more views will rise to the top of the algorithm. Untrusted sources that will be questioned will fall lower down. Key market trends for H1 2026. Platforms are directing less traffic to publishers. Meta has been giving creators greater amplification, but it seems uncertain whether that is playing out successfully. Programmatic advertising inventory values, for us, have been really positive, but for the market have been relatively stable.

Speaker #1: Where you can see the numbers scaled much more quickly, at about three times the rate, and that will be self-fulfilling. Trusted brands that get more views will rise to the top of the algorithm.

Speaker #1: Untrusted sources that will be questioned will fall lower down. So, key market trends for H1 2026: Platforms are directing less traffic to publishers. Meta has been giving creators greater amplification, but it seems uncertain whether that's playing out successfully.

Speaker #1: Programmatic advertising inventory values for us have been really positive, but for the market have been relatively stable. UK and US markets continue to lead in terms of audience value and volumes for digital bots.

James Carter: UK and US markets continue to lead in terms of audience value and volumes for Digitalbox. There is growing consumption of short-form video, which is an area we have increasingly started to move into. There is a growth that is outpacing the market in bespoke commercial solutions. Underlining all of that, originality is key. Sharing second-hand content is no longer a route forward for businesses like LADbible and perhaps Jungle Creations that formed an engine really distributing content into social channels. Verification and trust is going to become an increasingly important factor as we move forwards from this point. Over to Richard to dig into the financial performance of the business.

Speaker #1: There's growing consumption of short-form video, which is an area we've increasingly started to move into. And there's growth that is outpacing the market in bespoke commercial solutions.

Speaker #1: And underlining all of that, originality is key. Sharing second-hand content is no longer a route forward for businesses like Lad Bible and perhaps Jungle Creations, which formed an engine primarily distributing content into social channels.

Speaker #1: And verification and trust are going to become increasingly important factors as we move forward from this point. So, over to Richard to dig into the financial performance of the business.

Speaker #2: Thank you, James. And good morning, everyone. As you're aware, since we last updated you on our trading performance, many digital publishers have reported significant declines in financial performance due to algorithm changes and an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

Richard Spilsbury: Thank you, James, and good morning, everyone. As you are aware, since we last updated you on our trading performance, many digital publishers reported significant declines in financial performance due to algorithm changes and an uncertain macroeconomic environment. We have not been immune to these challenges, and while overall performance is disappointing, we can see opportunities for organic growth from our existing portfolio and extensions to our portfolio, which we will explain to you. We are also in a strong position to take advantage of appropriate acquisitive opportunities, which we proactively consider. Onto our income statement. Overall, turnover fell 7%, which reflects the algorithm changes widely reported in the market. Despite this, gross profit rose 3 percentage points. Contribution before head office costs fell from GBP 713,000 to GBP 513,000, excluding central overhead costs. The contribution margin was 30%, down from 39% in the prior period.

Speaker #2: We have not been immune to these challenges, and while overall performance is disappointing, we can see opportunities for organic growth from our existing portfolio and extensions to our portfolio.

Speaker #2: Which we will explain to you. We are also in a strong position to take advantage of appropriate acquisitive opportunities, which we proactively consider. Onto our income statement.

Speaker #2: Overall, turnover fell 7%, which reflects the algorithm changes widely reported in the market. Despite this, gross profit rose 3 percentage points. Contribution before head office costs fell from £713,000 to £513,000, excluding central overhead costs.

Speaker #2: The contribution margin was 30%, down from 39% in the prior period. Restructuring at the end of the reporting period addressed this reduction in margin and led to a one-off charge of £59,000.

Richard Spilsbury: Restructuring at the end of the reporting period addressed this reduction in margin and led to a one-off charge of GBP 59,000. These cost reduction measures are expected to benefit the second half of the year. Here I present information about our underlying performance, which is represented by adjusted EBITDA, which shows a loss of GBP 43,000 compared to an adjusted EBITDA in H1 2025 of GBP 129,000 after new product development costs, a variance of GBP 175,000. In H1 2025, we incurred GBP 160,000 worth of new product development, and we have not reported this new product development separately in 2026. In 2025, 32% of our full year adjusted EBITDA before new product development arose in H1. Adjusted EBITDA encapsulates the underlying profitability of the group, giving you greater visibility of trading once we have taken into account the following factors.

Speaker #2: These cost reduction measures are expected to benefit the second half of the year. Here, I present information about our underlying performance, which is represented by adjusted EBITDA.

Speaker #2: Which shows a loss of 43,000 pounds compared to an adjusted EBITDA in H1 2025 of 129,000 after 129,000 pounds after new product development costs a variance of 175,000.

Speaker #2: In H1 2025, we incurred £160,000 worth of new product development, and we have not reported this new product development separately in 2026. In 2025, 32% of our full-year adjusted EBITDA before new product development arose in H1.

Speaker #2: Adjusted EBITDA encapsulates the underlying profitability of the group, giving you greater visibility of trading once we have taken into account the following factors: First, value measurement changes, such as depreciation, amortization, impairment, and share-based payments.

Richard Spilsbury: First, value measurement changes such as depreciation, amortization, impairment, and share-based payments. Secondly, one-off project costs for restructuring. In addition to the standard value measurement changes like depreciation and amortization, the group recognized an impairment charge on intangible assets as a result of a review of the value and use of assets given the change in market conditions, and that charge was GBP 634,000. Together with other changes in management and costs in relation to one-off projects of GBP 59,000, the group made an operating loss of GBP 983,000, compared to an operating loss of GBP 217,000 in H1 2025. We turn now to our segmental revenue. We continue to report our segmental analysis with three segments, namely entertainment, humor, and youth. You can see that entertainment has declined most, and it was only just our largest segment. Both humor and youth have both shown double-digit growth.

Speaker #2: And secondly, one-off project costs for restructuring. In addition to the standard value measurement changes like depreciation and amortization, the group recognized an impairment charge on intangible assets as a result of review of the value and use of assets given the change in market conditions, and that charge was £634,000.

Speaker #2: Together, with other changes in management and costs in relation to one-off projects of £59,000, the group made an operating loss of £983,000 compared to an operating loss of £217,000 in H1 2025.

Speaker #2: Returning now to our segmental revenue, we continue to report our segmental analysis with three segments: entertainment, humor, and youth. You can see that entertainment has declined the most, and it was only just our largest segment.

Speaker #2: Both Humor and Youth have shown double-digit growth. Quarterly revenue changes demonstrate that the trading environment is variable, and our agility and ability to adapt to changes remain key to our business model and management style.

Richard Spilsbury: Quarterly revenue changes demonstrate that the trading environment is variable and our agility and ability to adapt to changes remains key to our business model and management style. Turning to our operating cash flows. Next slide. Cash generation remains strong and we see increased net operating inflows in H1 2026. As we have done in previous years, we report the aggregate cash flows over the last two years to better understand underlying cash conversion, and I have done this again to be consistent, and this shows an aggregate cash conversion of 65%, reflecting our continued strong track record in cash collections in the context of continued investment in growth and other costs to underpin shareholder value.

Speaker #2: Turning to our operating cash flows. Next slide. Cash generation remains strong, and we see increased net operating inflows in H1 2026. As we have done as we have done in previous years, we report the aggregate cash flows over the last two years to better understand underlying cash conversion and I have done this again to be consistent.

Speaker #2: And this shows an aggregate cash conversion of 65%, reflecting our continued strong track record in cash collections, in the context of continued investment in growth and other costs to underpin shareholder value.

Speaker #2: On this slide, we show cash utilization. It summarizes how we have managed our cash reserves, which were £1.8 million at the start of the year and rose to £2 million at 30 June 2025.

Richard Spilsbury: On this slide, we show cash utilization. It summarized how we have managed our cash reserves, which were GBP 1.8 million at the start of the year and rose to GBP 2 million at 30 June 2025. We have used cash generation to restructure the business to improve contribution margins going forward, invest in growth acquisitions such as Film Junkie, and we have incurred minimum levels of tangible fixed asset purchases. We continue to hold significant cash reserves at the half year and are mindful of the need for robust working capital management so we can continue to invest in growth both acquisitively and organically. We continue to review receivable interest rates regularly to obtain competitive rates.

Speaker #2: We have used cash generation to restructure the business to improve contribution margins going forward, invested in growth acquisitions such as Film Junkie, and we have incurred minimal levels of tangible fixed asset purchases.

Speaker #2: We continue to hold significant cash reserves at the half year, and are mindful of the need for robust working capital management, so we can continue to invest in growth, both acquisitively and organically.

Speaker #2: We continue to review receivable interest rates regularly to obtain competitive rates. While a significant proportion of our revenues are earned in US dollars, we convert US dollar funds to sterling every quarter to manage foreign currency exchange risk.

Richard Spilsbury: While a significant proportion of our revenues are earned in US dollars, we convert US dollar funds to sterling every quarter to manage foreign currency exchange risk. We use forward exchange contracts to reduce the impact of any foreign exchange rate volatility on the business. On to our financial position. Our financial position continues to be strong, which puts us in a good position to exploit market opportunities for growth. Our largest asset category are the intangible assets, mainly arising on consolidation accounting of acquisitions. As mentioned, this value has been remeasured in line with international accounting standards. We are not a capital-intensive business, and that is seen in our low tangible fixed assets.

Speaker #2: And we use forward exchange contracts to reduce the impact of any foreign exchange rate volatility on the business. On to our financial position. Our financial position continues to be strong, which puts us in a good position to exploit market opportunities for growth.

Speaker #2: Our largest asset category is intangible assets, mainly arising from the consolidation accounting of acquisitions. As mentioned, this value has been remeasured in line with international accounting standards.

Speaker #2: We are not a capital-intensive business, and that is seen in our low tangible fixed assets. Our deferred tax asset represents the highly likely recovery of tax losses in future trading periods, and this relief has been available to us effectively since 2025 onwards.

Richard Spilsbury: Our deferred tax asset represents the highly likely recovery of tax losses in future trading periods. This relief has been available to us effectively since 2025 onwards, and will continue to benefit our effective rate of tax going forward. Our current net assets have increased and are healthy. This strong financial position has given us the opportunity to continue to invest in shareholder value organically and acquisitively. Your board will continue to focus on maximizing value through the expansion of the current model. We will continue to develop this business through launching new products and remain alive to acquisition and merger opportunities when they maximize shareholder value.

Speaker #2: And will continue to benefit our effective rate of tax going forward. Our current net assets have increased and are healthy. This strong financial position has given us the opportunity to continue to invest in shareholder value organically and acquisitively.

Speaker #2: Your Board will continue to focus on maximizing value through the expansion of the current model. We will continue to develop the business through launching new products and remain alert to acquisition and merger opportunities when they maximize shareholder value.

Speaker #1: Okay, thank you, Richard. So, moving forward, let's have a look at how we're going to expand the business. We have expanded it, obviously, over the years since we've been listed.

James Carter: Okay. Thank you, Richard. Moving forwards, let's have a look at how we're going to expand the business. We have expanded it obviously over the years since we've been listed, more than doubled it, size and a lot more than that in terms of the number of brands. We also recognize we need to go faster and continue to grow. Our mission is to establish an entertainment powerhouse through the diversification and expansion of our current model. There are five key initiatives really that we are going to focus on as we move forwards from here. The current model remains robust in certain areas, but it needs other aspects applying to it. Scaling of our original video output is in place, as growth in consumer attention for short-form video continues. We're going to be pushing out more content there to satisfy audiences on the platforms.

Speaker #1: We've more than doubled it—both in terms of size and the number of brands. But we also recognize that we need to move faster and continue to grow.

Speaker #1: So, our mission is to establish an entertainment powerhouse through the diversification and expansion of our current model. There are five key initiatives, really, that we are going to focus on as we move forward from here.

Speaker #1: So the current model remains robust in certain areas, but it needs other aspects applied to it. The scaling of our original video output is in place.

Speaker #1: As growth in consumer attention for short-form video continues, we're going to be pushing out more content there to satisfy audiences on the platforms.

Speaker #1: We need to grow our social footprints. We're up to over 30 million followers within Meta in particular, but we need to continue to grow on platforms like TikTok.

James Carter: We need to grow our social footprint. We are up to over 30 million followers within Meta in particular, but we need to continue to grow on platforms like TikTok. We also have an ambition to start to extract some value from the faster-growing segment of the digital ad market, which is branded content solutions, and that will come through direct sales solutions. In addition, the harnessing of AI efficiencies will become increasingly important to the business as we move forwards, helping us move to higher margins than we would otherwise be able to deliver without these tools. Leverage of the strength of our brands is going to be key. I mentioned earlier about trust. Being a trusted brand and a recognized brand is going to help publishers get cut through with audiences as they move forwards.

Speaker #1: We also have an ambition to start to extract some value from the faster-growing segment of the digital ad market, which is branded content solutions, and that will come through direct sales solutions.

Speaker #1: In addition, the harnessing of AI efficiencies will become increasingly important to the business as we move forward, helping us move to higher margins than we would otherwise be able to deliver without these tools.

Speaker #1: Leveraging the strength of our brands is going to be key. I mentioned earlier about trust. Being a trusted brand and a recognized brand is going to help publishers get cut-through with audiences as they move forward.

Speaker #1: And how you use those will be dependent upon the publisher, but we think we have a real opportunity, certainly, to harness the strength of those brands alongside some creator activities.

James Carter: How you use those will be dependent upon the publisher, but we think we have a real opportunity certainly to harness the strength of those brands alongside some creator activities. Some of you may have read in the RNS that went out earlier that we have ambitions to build a creator network. At the moment we have over 200 creators in total signed up to work with Digitalbox, and it is on a revenue-sharing model. Effectively by offering creators the chance to work under the entertainment umbrella, as an example, with its 2.5 million followers, affords them an opportunity to get much greater reach than they would have otherwise done.

Speaker #1: Some of you may have read in the RNS that went out earlier that we have ambitions to build a creator network. At the moment, we have over 200 creators in total signed up to work with Digitalbox.

Speaker #1: And it's on a revenue sharing model. So effectively, by offering creators the chance to work under the entertainment umbrella, as an example, with its two and a half million followers, affords them an opportunity to get much greater reach than they would have otherwise done, as we saw earlier from the example of Georgia Blue, who was writing about Love Island, etc., with her 2,000 followers she should get much more from what she produces if she was to publish through a channel with two and a half million followers.

James Carter: As we saw earlier from the example of Georgia Blue, who was writing about "Love Island," et cetera, with her 2,000 followers, she should get much more from what she produces if she was to publish through a channel with 2.5 million followers. So we have this in play. We have recruited a number across what we are calling the Entertainment Network, which is around TV, Entertainment Daily, TV Guide, and associated products in that area. We also have a large number of students who are very keen to publish video content within the TikTok world, in the youth space. That we hope to result in over 500 original pieces of video content going out within the next month or so. Moving towards a branded content sell, we are going to have multifaceted solutions, that is for sure.

Speaker #1: So, we have this in play. We've recruited a number across what we're calling the Entertainment Network, which is around TV entertainment daily, TV Guide, and associated products in that area.

Speaker #1: And we also have a large number of students who are very keen to publish video content within the TikTok world in the youth space.

Speaker #1: So, we hope to produce over 500 original pieces of video content going out within the next month or so. Moving towards a branded content sell, we're going to have multifaceted solutions.

Speaker #1: That's for sure. So, article content will become increasingly important to brands as they try to increase their indexing levels within the large language models.

James Carter: Article content will become increasingly important to brands as they try to increase their indexing levels within the large language models. Video content, again, increasingly important, and social solutions. We have got a full range of tools now to offer, and we aim to recruit a direct sales team and start to deliver branded content solutions moving forwards. Programmatic is becoming continually important to, or becoming more important in the sense that it will diversify. At the moment, the majority of our programmatic revenues are coming from website delivery. But increasingly, it will spread to on-platform, which it has done over the last year or 2, but on-platform monetization of video as well as we are publishing more content on the platforms.

Speaker #1: Video content is, again, increasingly important, and social solutions. We've got a full range of tools now to offer, and we aim to recruit a direct sales team and start to deliver branded content solutions moving forward.

Speaker #1: Programmatic is becoming increasingly important to us, or becoming more important in the sense that it will diversify. At the moment, the majority of our programmatic revenues are coming from website delivery.

Speaker #1: But increasingly, it will spread to on-platform, which it has done over the last year or two. On-platform monetization of video is also growing, as we're publishing more content on the platforms.

Speaker #1: So, three levels, really, of new activities: creator network, branded content, and programmatic—which will be feeding off the creator output. This will result in diversifying our revenue sources, increasingly moving away from what has historically been 70, 80, or 90 percent of our income from website activities, towards platform activities as well.

James Carter: So three levels really of new activities, creator network, branded content, and programmatic, which will be feeding off the creator output, will result in us diversifying our revenue sources increasingly from historically what has been 70%, 80%, or 90% of our income from website activities towards platform activities as well. But increasingly important for us to spread our efforts and output across both areas of platforms and websites. Jim will take you through how we're going to execute moving forwards.

Speaker #1: But it's increasingly important for us to spread our efforts and output across both areas: platforms and websites. So, Jim will take you through how we're going to execute moving forward.

Speaker #2: Thanks, James. Yes. So, firstly, in terms of our portfolio execution—whether we're looking at traditional article content or, increasingly, video output—there are key strengths that help Digitalbox generate revenue and really underpin the way we operate creatively.

Jim Douglas: Thanks, James. Yes, so firstly, in terms of portfolio execution, whether we're looking at traditional article content or increasingly video output, there are certain key strengths that help Digitalbox generate revenue and really underpin the way we operate creatively. On this slide here, the dark blue elements are the stages or factors in the news content cycle, and the light blue are the skills or attributes that we believe we are able to bring to bear at the relevant stage. At the top, number 1, there's a news event. So the new "Strictly Come Dancing" host's debut on the show, or Jack Lowden's rumored to have been chosen as the new James Bond, or Ed Sheeran's tour goes into meltdown. At that stage, we need to decide the significance of that moment for our audience.

Speaker #2: So, on this slide here, the dark blue elements are the stages or factors in the news content cycle, and the light blue are the skills or attributes that we believe we are able to bring to bear at the relevant stage.

Speaker #2: And so at the top, number one: there's a news event. So the news—Strictly Come Dancing hosts debut on the show, or Jack Loudon's rumored to have been chosen as the new James Bond, or Ed Sheeran's tour goes into meltdown.

Speaker #2: And, at that stage, we need to decide the significance of that moment for our audience. That's where we need to deploy our data from prior story performance. But crucially, it's the subject expertise of our editorial teams, who are immersed in this world, that enables them to instantly determine whether there's going to be something here that their audience will engage with.

Jim Douglas: That's where we need to deploy our data that we've used from prior story performance. But crucially, it's the subject expertise of our editorial teams who are immersed in this world to instantly determine whether there's going to be something here that our audience will engage with. Obviously, if there is, everyone else is probably trying to cover the same story, so we need an angle on our reporting, and often multiple angles to enable us to revisit the same key story. That's where subject expertise meets creativity, and they combine to offer our audiences something fresh. So we've got our story, we've got our angle, then it's really about execution, whether that's a written article or a video or an engagement post, and that's where creativity combines with platform skills.

Speaker #2: Obviously, if there is, everyone else is probably trying to cover the same story. So we need an angle on our reporting, and often multiple angles to enable us to revisit the same key story.

Speaker #2: So that's where subject expertise meets creativity, and they combine to offer our audiences something fresh. So we've got our story, we've got our angle.

Speaker #2: Then it's really about execution, whether that's a written article, a video, or an engagement post. And that's where creativity combines with platform skills.

Speaker #2: Because our creative teams are posting their material themselves, rather than passing it off to a disconnected team, they're fully immersed in what actually works on each platform.

Jim Douglas: Because our creative teams are posting their material themselves rather than passing it off to a disconnected team, they're fully immersed in what actually works on each platform. When the content gets distributed and surfaced for users, it benefits from brand recognition, as James mentioned earlier. So even in a fraction of a second when the user's scrolling through their feed, that tiny logo that travels with the content rings a subconscious bell of familiarity for the user. So, oh, I had a good experience the last time I engaged with content from The Tab or Vogue or TV Guide. The last time they spoke to me, I had a good experience. What have they got for me this time? That recognition, that moment, is enough for them to pause and begin to engage with the content.

Speaker #2: When the content gets distributed and surfaced for users, it benefits from brand recognition, as James mentioned earlier. So, even in a fraction of a second when the user is scrolling through their feed, that tiny logo that travels with the content rings a subconscious bell of familiarity for the user.

Speaker #2: So, I had a good experience the last time I engaged with content from The Tab, or the book, or TV Guide. The last time they spoke to me, I had a good experience.

Speaker #2: What have they got for me this time? And that recognition, that moment, is enough for them to pause and begin to engage with the content.

Speaker #2: That engagement that we generate, whether it's through longer comments, more shares, or increased dwell time, earns our content further amplification beyond our follower bases.

Jim Douglas: That engagement that we generate, whether it's by longer comments or more shares or more dwell time, earns our content further amplification beyond our follower bases. That is because the algorithms know that there's a good chance that our content will outperform something else that they could surface for any given user. The engagement with our content contributes to our onsite performance and our monetization there too. While this process is going on, all of this data is building and contributing further to our audience insight. So at every stage of the process, every stage of this cycle, we are benefiting from subject expertise, creativity, platform skills, brand recognition, and audience insights to make our content more valuable. Moving on to the next slide. As James has mentioned, we have a creator network initiative, and that's about significantly scaling our video output.

Speaker #2: And that's because the algorithms know there's a good chance that our content will help perform something else that they could surface for any given user.

Speaker #2: And obviously, the engagement with our content contributes to our on-site performance and our monetization there, too. And, of course, while this process is going on, all of this data is building and contributing further to how we understand audience insight.

Speaker #2: So, at every stage of the process—every stage of this cycle—we're benefiting from subject expertise, creativity, platform skills, brand recognition, and audience insights to make our content more valuable.

Speaker #2: Moving on to the next slide. As James has mentioned, we have a Creator Network initiative, and that's about significantly scaling our output. We have two key strands.

Jim Douglas: We have two key strands, and the first here is The Tab Student Network. As you can see on the next slide, for anyone who may not be familiar with The Tab brand, one of the strengths of The Tab is its existing network of student journalists at universities across the country. They are mentored by the main HQ team in London, and they contribute hyperlocal news articles for the site. So we are shifting that from news articles into being a squarely video-first proposition. This original content is a mixture of on-the-ground reporting, vox pops, personal opinion, and news reaction. The students have been away for the summer recently, but even during that period, they delivered coverage of a major fraud investigation at Manchester, the Jason Arday tragedy, uni guides, and they are now producing a whole raft of guides for freshers.

Speaker #2: And the first here is The Tab's student creator network. So as you can see on the next slide, for anyone who may not be familiar with The Tab brand, one of the strengths of The Tab is its existing network of student journalists at universities across the country.

Speaker #2: And they are mentored by the main HQ team in London. They contribute hyper-local news articles for the site. So we're shifting that from news articles into being a squarely video-first proposition.

Speaker #2: So, this original content is a mixture of on-the-ground reporting, vox pops, personal opinion, and news reaction. Obviously, the students have been away for the summer.

Speaker #2: Recently, but even during that period, they delivered coverage of a major fraud investigation at Manchester, the JCNR Day tragedy, uni guides, and of course, they're now producing a whole raft of guides for freshers.

Speaker #2: We have more than 50 local TikTok and Instagram accounts to distribute this content, giving us great local relevance and really strong aggregated reach. So there's almost 500,000 followers just in the local network.

Jim Douglas: We have more than 50 local TikTok and Instagram accounts to distribute this content, giving us great local relevance and really strong aggregated reach. So there's almost half a billion followers just in the local network, and we have the option to promote videos with national relevance on the brand's main pages. For Q4, we are ramping up across the universities, and we are pacing to be delivering our target of more than 300 videos per month, which is broadly in line with the volume of flat articles that those teams used to produce. So quite a lot of good progress there. Next, we have the entertainment content creator network. This is the other live strand of the plan.

Speaker #2: And we have the option to promote videos with national relevance on the brand's main pages. For Q4, we're ramping up across the universities, and we're pacing to deliver our target of more than 300 videos per month, which is broadly in line with the volume of flat articles that those teams used to produce.

Speaker #2: So, quite a lot of good progress there. Next, we have the entertainment content creator network. This is the other live strand of the plan.

Speaker #2: So, on the next slide, you can see what we're trying to do here is plug into the enormous appetite for screen-based entertainment that has typically been the lifeblood of Entertainment Daily, TV Guide, and our soap sites.

Jim Douglas: On the next slide, you can see what we are trying to do here is plug into the enormous appetite for screen-based entertainment that has typically been the lifeblood of Entertainment Daily, TV Guide, and our soap sites. As James mentioned, we are onboarding a stable of creators with as much enthusiasm and passion as our existing team, and crucially, by giving them access to our channels, we are giving them the opportunity to put their content in front of the group's 10 million followers and beyond. So they are delivering show reactions, speculation, explainers, and commentary alongside our current team. So we think that this combination of their authentic passion about the shows they love with our brand credibility and reach is a really powerful formula. So we are on track to have 30 creators producing for us during Q4, which should be delivering something around 20 million video views per month.

Speaker #2: So, as James mentioned, we're onboarding a stable of creators with as much enthusiasm and passion as our existing team. Crucially, by giving them access to our channels, we're giving them the opportunity to put their content in front of the group's 10 million followers and beyond.

Speaker #2: So they're delivering show reactions, speculation, explainers, and commentary alongside our current team. We think that this combination of their authentic passion for the shows they love with our brand credibility and reach is a really powerful formula.

Speaker #2: So we're on track to have 30 creators producing for us during Q4, which should be delivering something around 20 million video views per month.

Speaker #2: So that's the content side of the Creator Network. Now, as James mentioned, we also want to increase what we're doing in terms of direct sales.

Jim Douglas: So that's the content side of the creator network. As James mentioned, we also want to increase what we're doing in terms of direct sales. At the moment, the lion's share of our advertising revenue is programmatic, and we focus here because of the high margin profile. But we've been fielding an increasing number of inbound requests from clients who want to access our brand's credibility and the team's creativity. We've already delivered campaigns, as you can see here, for Wrigley's, Adobe, and many more. Because in delivering those campaigns, we've been building our reputation among those brands and the agencies that buy for them.

Speaker #2: At the moment, the lion's share of our advertising revenue is programmatic, and we focus here because of the high-margin profile. But we've been fielding an increasing number of inbound requests from clients who want to leverage credibility and the team's creativity.

Speaker #2: So we've already delivered campaigns, as you can see here, for Wrigley's, Adobe, and many more. In delivering those campaigns, we've been building our reputation among those brands and the agencies that buy for them.

Speaker #2: And we think the creator network that we're expanding really unlocks a significant opportunity for direct sales, because what clients increasingly want is the authenticity they get from branded video fronted by creators, but they want the confidence that they get when they buy campaigns through a professional media owner that they can trust.

Jim Douglas: We think the creator network that we're expanding really unlocks a significant opportunity for direct sales, because what clients increasingly want is the authenticity they get from branded video fronted by creators, but they want the confidence that they get when they buy campaigns through a professional media owner that they can trust. So our direct sales operation, we think, is a key mechanism to drive value from the work we're doing to upscale video. By the end of this year, we want to have our sales team in place, ready to begin delivering campaigns through all of 2027. Lastly from me, this is a brief look at how we're experimenting with AI tools with the first stage of our new proprietary tool called SignalForge. There's a broader roadmap for this product, which sees it become a fuller suite of publishing tools.

Speaker #2: So our direct sales operation, we think, is a key mechanism to drive value from the work we're doing to upscale video. By the end of this year, we aim to have our sales team in place, ready to begin delivering campaigns throughout all of 2027.

Speaker #2: And then lastly, from me, this is a brief look at how we're experimenting with AI tools with the first stage of our new proprietary tool, called Signal Forge.

Speaker #2: There's a broader roadmap for this product, which sees it become a fuller suite of publishing tools. But in this first incarnation, it's supporting our editorial teams in the Entertainment Group to become even more efficient.

Jim Douglas: But in this first incarnation, it's supporting our editorial teams in the entertainment group to become even more efficient. This view here that you see, is what an editor on Entertainment Daily may see when they open the tool, which is a ranked list of potential story opportunities that SignalForge has surfaced. On this next slide, we see a bit more detail of how the system fits into the editorial workflow. If we just go to the next slide, James.

Speaker #2: So, this view here that you see is what an editor or an Entertainment Daily may see when they open the tool, which is a ranked list of potential story opportunities that Signal Forge has surfaced.

Speaker #2: And then, on this next slide, we see a bit more detail of how the system fits into the editorial workflow. So if we just go to the next slide—on the diagram here, we've got the system layer at the top and the human layer underneath.

James Carter: Yeah.

Jim Douglas: On the diagram here, we've got the system layer at the top, and the human layer underneath. There's a preparatory learning phase or step 0, as we called it, where we train the system on an archive of our own stories and associated data to give it a base of knowledge. When we move into live production, step 1 at the top there is seek. Based on the knowledge that it's been given, it sweeps multiple sources, including news sites, press releases, soon to be social feeds, podcasts, and videos to seek out story ideas. Step 2 is where it ranks those ideas, for the editors to select, which is what you saw on the previous slide.

Speaker #2: So there's a preparatory learning phase, or step zero as we call it, where we train the system on an archive of our own stories and associated data to give it a base of knowledge.

Speaker #2: And then when we move into live production, step one, at the top there is seek. And based on the knowledge that it's been given, it sweeps multiple sources, including news sites, press releases, soon to be social feeds, podcasts, and videos, to seek out story ideas.

Speaker #2: Step two is where it ranks those ideas for the editor to select, which is what you saw on the previous slide. So, using their knowledge, the editors will further sift, reject the stories that they don't want, and brief the system in terms of the specific angle of story they want it to draft.

Jim Douglas: Using their knowledge, the editors will further sift, reject the stories that they do not want, and brief the system in terms of the specific angle of story they want it to draft. SignalForge then creates a draft of the story based on its knowledge and the brief, the relevant house style, and it will then also run its own compliance checks. That piece goes back to the human editor, critically back to the human editor for review, a polish of the story, edits, and once approved, it goes live in the CMS. We are not using SignalForge on all story types. We are getting better results on more straightforward news reporting. We are using it, we are seeing research time reduced by around 75% at between 66% and 100% increase in the volume of published stories. A really big efficiency gain for the teams there.

Speaker #2: Signal Forge then creates a draft of the story based on its knowledge and the brief, the relevant house style, and it will then also run its own compliance checks.

Speaker #2: And then that piece goes back to the human editor—critically, back to the human editor—for review, a polish of the story, edits, and once approved, it goes live in the CMS.

Speaker #2: We're not using Signal Forge on all story types. We're getting better results on more straightforward news reporting. But we are using it. We're seeing research time reduced by around 75%, and between a 66% and 100% increase in the volume of published stories.

Speaker #2: So, a really big efficiency gain for the teams there. That's it from me.

Jim Douglas: That is it from me.

Speaker #1: Thank you very much, Jim. So, briefly, let's look at the future—what the future looks like for us. We plan to continue the expansion of the portfolio.

James Carter: Thank you very much, Jim. Briefly, let us look at the future, what the future looks like for us. We plan to continue the expansion of the portfolio. You can see here on this chart, we have moved in 2019 in the darker blue, to 11 products by 2026. Acquiring and creating into the future will continue to form part of the strategy. Expanding the outputs and distribution points for our content is also key. So 200 creators delivering over 500 pieces of content by October/November absolutely will be part of how we deliver growth for the business in terms of reach, engagement opportunities within the walled gardens. Diversifying our revenue streams is going to be critical as well, because more diversification will create a more robust model. Open web activity has been pretty strong for us.

Speaker #1: You can see here on this chart, we've moved in 2019, in the darker blue, to 11 products by 2026. Acquiring and creating into the future will continue to form part of the strategy.

Speaker #1: Expanding the output and distribution points for our content is also key. So, 200 creators delivering over 500 pieces of content by October/November—absolutely, that will be part of how we deliver growth for the business in terms of reach and engagement opportunities within the walled gardens.

Speaker #1: And diversifying our revenue streams is going to be critical as well, because more diversification will create a more robust model. Open web activity has been pretty strong for us, and on-platform activity has been growing over recent years.

James Carter: On-platform activity has been growing over recent years, but moving into direct client contracting and sales will become much more important as we go forward. Three key focuses really in terms of revenue generation as we move forwards. Looking at the global ad spend going into 2030, you can see from 2026 it is going to move from around just over 900, I think it is 920 billion to about 1.3 billion by 2030. I know there is various views on being ad funded, but there is no question it is a growth market and there will be more money flowing through, 320 billion extra by 2030 is the forecast. In summary, we think we have had a resilient H1 performance despite the significant audience headwinds. There is no question it has been challenging, but I think we have contended with those challenges pretty well.

Speaker #1: But moving into direct client contracting and sales will become much more important as we go forward. So, three key focuses, really, in terms of revenue generation as we move forward.

Speaker #1: Looking at the global ad spend going into 2030, you can see from 2026, it's going to move from around $900 billion—just over $900 billion, I think it's $920 billion—to about $1.3 trillion by 2030.

Speaker #1: So I know there's various views on being ad-funded, but there's no question it's a growth market. And there will be more money flowing through—$320 billion extra by 2030 is the forecast.

Speaker #1: So in summary, we think we've had a resilient first half performance. Despite the significant audience headwinds, I mean, it has there's no question. It's been challenging.

Speaker #1: But I think we've contended with those challenges pretty well. The advertising strength within the business continues. Throughout the first half, we grew our values by 20%.

James Carter: The advertising strength within the business continued throughout H1 as we grew our values by 20%, and the expansion of the business through a creator network and revenue diversification will certainly strengthen it as we move forwards. In addition to that, we continue to have cash in the bank at around £2 million, and that is forecast to grow towards the year end, which leaves us ready to move and ready to focus on additive opportunities as they may come out. We have been selective in the sense that we only want to execute around opportunities that were clearly going to bring a financial benefit to the business in the short to medium term, and will continue to deploy a very focused, thorough DD model in order to ensure that. Momentum continues to 2027, as we will grow the business into the next year. Thank you.

Speaker #1: And the expansion of the business through a creator network and revenue diversification will certainly strengthen it as we move forward. In addition to that, we continue to have cash in the bank at around £2 million, and that's forecast to grow towards the year end, which leaves us ready to move and ready to focus on additive opportunities as they may come up.

Speaker #1: So, we've only been very selective in the sense that we've only wanted to execute around opportunities that were clearly going to bring a financial benefit to the business in the short to medium term.

Speaker #1: And we'll continue to deploy a very, very focused, thorough DD model in order to ensure that. So, momentum continues to 2027, as we will grow the business into next year.

Speaker #1: Thank you.

Speaker #2: Perfect. Thank you, guys, for updating those investors today. Can I please remind investors to submit your questions just by using the Q&A, situated on the right-hand corner of your screen.

Operator: Perfect. Thank you guys for updating us investors today. Could I please remind investors to submit your questions just by using the Q&A tab situated on the right-hand corner of your screen. For your reference, a recording of today's presentation will be available on the Investor Meet Company platform shortly after the meeting has ended. Guys, as you can see, we have received a number of questions during today's presentation. James, if I could just hand back to you at this point to read out the questions and give responses where appropriate to do so, and I will pick up from you at the end.

Speaker #2: And for your reference, the recording of today's presentation will be available on the Investor Meet Company platform shortly after the meeting has ended. As you can see, we have received a number of questions during today's presentation.

Speaker #2: So, James, if I could just hand back to you at this point to read out the questions and give responses where appropriate to do so.

Speaker #2: And I'll pick up from you at the end.

Speaker #1: Yeah, I'm not sure if the first one—I'll read it out—but it says, "Thanks for the update to investors, and we're always answering even the tough questions."

James Carter: Yeah. I am not sure it is the first one, I will read it out, but it says, "Thanks for the update to investors and for always answering even the tough questions. It might be worth informing investors that Digitalbox shares can now be purchased via Trading 212 without broker fees." I am not sure if that is an advert for Trading 212 or what, but there you are. It does not really deserve an answer, that one, but it is a bit of information. I think the next question really, Richard, is for you. How should we think about the long-term margin profile of the business once the current audience disruption has stabilized and the cost reductions are fully reflected?

Speaker #1: It might be worth informing investors that Digitalbox shares can now be purchased via Trading 212 without broker fees. I'm not sure if that's an advert for Trading 212 or what, but there you are.

Speaker #1: It doesn’t really deserve an answer, that one, but it’s a bit of information. I think the next question, really, Richard, is for you: how should we think about the long-term margin profile of the business once the current audience disruption has stabilized and the cost reductions are fully reflected?

Richard Spilsbury: I will link this to the second question about margin as well. The cost reduction exercise that unfortunately we had to deal with towards the end of H2 is intended to get us back to the normalized level of contribution margins that we have historically seen. The analysis shown in one of the questions is looking at the full year margin. What we have taken into account is that the H1 margin and the H2 margins are quite different. We have tried to get ourselves back on track. However, that will not necessarily resolve the contribution shortfall that has happened in the year to date.

Speaker #3: I'll link this to the second question about margin as well. So, the cost reduction exercise—unfortunately, we had to deal with it towards the end of H2—is intended to get us back to the normalized level of contribution margins that we've historically seen.

Speaker #3: The analysis shown in one of the questions is looking at the full-year margin. So, what we've taken into account is that the H1 margin and the H2 margins are quite different.

Speaker #3: So, we've tried to get ourselves back on track. However, that won't necessarily resolve the contribution shortfall that's happened in the year to date.

Speaker #1: OK, thank you. The next question—I think an 8% full-year EBITDA margin on H2 revenue, down a similar percentage change in and gross margin to H1—implies you need to make around £200,000 in admin cost savings in H2 versus H1.

James Carter: Okay. Thank you. The next question, I think 8% full year EBITDA margin on H2 revenue down a similar percentage change and a gross margin to H1 implies you need to make around GBP 200,000 in admin cost savings in H2 versus H1. Where will these savings come from, and will there be non-recurring costs associated with these? Well, we made savings across the business, which we executed on in June/July and we trimmed in areas where we felt it wouldn't make a significant difference to our ongoing performance. Those areas included where we're gaining efficiencies from AI. Some editorial output increases on the Entertainment Daily group resulted in possibly fewer staff in that area. We've also been utilizing AI a lot as far as our tech development is concerned. We lost some resource there.

Speaker #1: Where will these savings come from? And will there be non-recurring costs associated with these? Well, we've made savings across the business, which we executed on in June/July.

Speaker #1: And we trimmed in areas where we felt it wouldn't make a significant difference to our ongoing performance. Those areas included where we've gained efficiencies from AI, so some editorial output increases on the Entertainment Daily group resulted in possibly fewer staff in that area.

Speaker #1: We've also been utilizing AI a lot as far as our tech development is concerned. We lost some resource there, and we've managed to trim around £20,000 to £25,000 a month from our cost base.

James Carter: We've managed to trim around GBP 20,000 to GBP 25,000 a month from our cost base. Moving forwards, that would equate to the kind of figures that was being suggested in the question. Looking at the next question. "This is now the second time an algorithm change has unexpectedly hit the business, requiring business model adaption. Will this always be a risk to the business?" I think it's a reality for all publishers. I think significant algorithm changes have existed for 10, 15 years, whether it's Google, whether it's Meta. We have had disruption from it or notable disruption from it on two or three occasions. If you're close to these things, you can see how the algorithms are being tweaked on a month-by-month basis.

Speaker #1: So, moving forward, that would equate to the kind of figures that were being suggested in the question. Looking at the next question, this is now the second time an algorithm change has unexpectedly hit the business, requiring business model adaptation.

Speaker #1: Will this always be a risk to the business? I think it's a reality for all publishers. I think algorithm changes have existed for significant algorithm changes have existed for 10, 15 years, whether it's Google, whether it's Meta, we have had disruption from it on notable disruption from it on two or three occasions.

Speaker #1: But if you're close to these things, you can see how the algorithms are being tweaked on a month-by-month basis. I mean, we monitor things daily.

James Carter: We monitor things daily, and we can see Meta's changes taking place since April, and the result for that is an increased level of performance since 1 September in terms of our non-follower reach. As we imagine that the creator play that they put into place in April hasn't fully played out as they might have expected. There's a refocus there around changing of their algorithm. You'll see other algorithmic changes within YouTube, switching away from subs-driven distribution towards performance level metrics ranking content, which is obviously what you're seeing very heavily at play in sites like TikTok. It's a continued part of the media market. I don't think you can get away from algorithm changes. There's a question about what relationship do we have with the new largest shareholder. I have spoken with Cecil Hetherington.

Speaker #1: And we can see Meta's changes taking place since April, and the result of that is an increased level of performance since September 1st in terms of our non-follower reach.

Speaker #1: As we imagine, the creator play that they put into place in April hasn't fully played out as they might have expected. So there's a refocus there around changing their algorithm.

Speaker #1: You'll see other algorithmic changes within YouTube, such as the shift away from subscriber-driven distribution towards performance-level metrics ranking content. This is obviously what you're seeing very heavily at play in sites like TikTok.

Speaker #1: So, it's a continued part of the media market. I don't think you can get away from algorithm changes. There's a question about what relationship we have with the new largest shareholder.

Speaker #1: I have spoken with Cecil Hetherington. We've met and exchanged views on the broader media market and the opportunities that exist within it, and I think we're quite aligned in our thinking.

James Carter: We've met and exchanged views on the broader media market and the opportunities that exist within it. I think we're quite aligned in our thinking. Cecil is also a shareholder in Reach PLC and other media assets in the UK. I think his experience within, as far as building an internet-based business is concerned, will be very valuable. We continue to have conversations with all shareholders as far as we can without disclosing any insider information. I think that's all of the questions answered.

Speaker #1: Cecil is also a shareholder in Reach PLC and other media assets in the UK. So I think his experience, as far as building an internet-based business is concerned, will be very valuable.

Speaker #1: But we continue to have conversations with all shareholders, as far as we can, without disclosing any insider information. I think that's all of the questions answered.

Speaker #2: Perfect. Thank you, guys, for updating investors today. Just before we ask investors to share their feedback, which I know is particularly important to the company, James, could I please just ask you for some closing comments?

Operator: Perfect. Thank you guys for updating investors today. Just before we ask investors to share their feedback, which I know is particularly important to the company, James, could I please just ask you for some closing comments?

Speaker #1: Yeah. I mean, clearly, the first half of 2026 was tough. But I think we've handled it well—I really do, given the circumstances. Sixty percent of our audience has been sourced over the years from Meta.

James Carter: Yeah. Clearly the H1 of 2026 was tough, but I think we've handled it well, I really do, given the circumstances. 60% of our audience has been sourced over the years from Meta, and to take such a significant hit where we saw about 75% of our reach removed, I think is a fairly strong performance reflecting on that in the H1 of the year. But more notably, looking forwards and looking at the data we have in front of us right now, I think the next quarter and moving into next year is going to be much stronger. Certainly we've remodeled the business to be match fit for 2027. And we're seeing some very positive results as we look at things today. So thank you for coming along. We'll keep you updated between now and the year end.

Speaker #1: And to take such a significant hit, where we saw about 75% of our reach removed, I think is a fairly strong performance reflecting on that in the first half of the year.

Speaker #1: But more notably, looking forward and considering the data we have in front of us right now, I think the next quarter and moving into next year are going to be much stronger.

Speaker #1: Certainly, we've remodeled the business to be match-fit for 2027, and we're seeing some very positive results as we look at things today. So, thank you for coming along.

Speaker #1: We'll keep you updated between now and year-end.

Speaker #2: Perfect. Thank you, James, Jim, and Richard, for the update today. Could I please ask investors not to close this session, as you will now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback?

Operator: Perfect. Thank you, James, Jim, and Richard for the update today. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you'll now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback. On behalf of the management team of Digitalbox PLC, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation, and good morning to you all.

Speaker #2: On behalf of the management team of Digitalbox PLC, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation and good morning to you all.

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Half Year 2026 Digitalbox PLC Earnings Call

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