Brave Bison Regulatory News (BBSN)

This announcement contains inside information as defined in EU Regulation No. 596/2014 and with the publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

4 August 2020

Brave Bison Group plc

("Brave Bison", "the Group" or "the Company")

Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020

Brave Bison Group plc (AIM: BBSN), the social video group, today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020. 

Highlights 

· Reduction in revenue to £5.5 million (H1 2019: £10.1 million) and loss before tax of £1.4 million (H1 2019: £1.2 million) as the Group contended with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic

· Appropriate action has been taken swiftly, with annualised cost savings of £1.1 million implemented to date. One off restructuring costs of £0.6 million (H1 2019: £0.4 million) have been incurred.

· Adjusted EBITDA1 was a loss of £0.4 million (H1 2019: positive adjusted EBITDA of £0.2 million). There is an improved outlook on the back of a better than anticipated recovery from June 2020, and given the cost savings the Group is now forecasting to be breakeven on an EBITDA basis in the second half of the year

· The Group is now led by a new management team and Board following the appointment of Oliver Green as Executive Chairman, Philippa Norridge as Chief Financial Officer and Matthew Law as Non-Executive Director

· Cash balance as at 30 June 2020 of £2.1 million (30 June 2019: £3.7 million) and no borrowings

· Acquisition and successful integration of certain assets of The Hook Group Limited ("The Hook"), one of the largest youth-focussed media groups with over 14 million followers across social media including almost 1 million followers on TikTok

· Significant client wins during the period, including Panasonic, World Dodgeball Federation, IMV Box, Media Star Maker and Viral Press.

· Successful revenue diversification across social platforms with content now distributed across Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Oliver Green, Executive Chairman, commented:

"The COVID-19 pandemic presented us with a number of commercial and operational challenges which we have dealt with swiftly and effectively. We have a new management team in place, and cost savings have been made to reduce losses. Improved trading in June and July has meant that we now anticipate the Group will breakeven in the second half of the year on an EBITDA basis.

In 2019 we were heavily dependent on Facebook advertising revenue, which cost us when our pages were de-monetised last year. Although most of our Facebook pages have since been remonetised, this year we have increased our diversification, with Snapchat and YouTube now responsible for a larger proportion of our advertising revenue.

Positively, the pandemic has forced a number of advertisers to expedite their shift in spend away from traditional channels, such as TV, and towards digital and social advertising, a trend we are well placed to capitalise on."

For further information please contact:

This announcement is available on the Group's website, www.bravebison.io.

About Brave Bison

Brave Bison is a social video group, specialising in cross-platform video content, connecting global audiences through social media. Its online communities reach over 135 million followers and the Brave Bison Studio provides expertise across strategy, research, data-driven insights, creative and production.

Brave Bison is one of the largest YouTube channel partners, with over 700 channels offering targeted inventory opportunities, alongside in-house specialists that deliver audience development and optimisation.

Its cultural connections and extensive networks have built the business long-standing client relationships with brands including P&G, Land Rover and Lego. With over 50 members of staff across London, Singapore, Japan and Korea, the 8-year-old business continues to stay at the forefront of this fast-moving digital age.

1Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure that the Company uses to measure its performance and is defined as earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation and after add back of costs related to restructuring and share based payments.

Operating Review

Our advertising business faced challenges in the period. The two factors that drive revenue are the volume and the value of advertising. The volume is reflected in the number of views (or page sessions) that our media properties receive from users that come to watch our content. The value is the price paid by advertisers to reach these users during each session, measured in CPM, or cost per thousand views.

Firstly, we experienced significant reductions in CPMs, primarily in April and May, as advertisers reduced spend in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, we experienced lower revenues from Facebook as a result of the de-monetisation of our pages last year; most of these pages have now been remonetised but we are experiencing lower revenues than previously.

The value of advertising has improved in June and July, ahead of our expectations, and we are now benefitting from increased watch time as viewers are spending more time at home. Furthermore, our diversification strategy has proven successful and Snapchat revenues performed particularly well during the crisis, boosting our operating margins. We have a strong relationship with the social platforms, and they have supported us well during the period by introducing a number of new revenue-generating advertising products to capitalise on increased engagement from audiences.

Our creative services business was adversely impacted by the pandemic and we saw a number of projects and campaigns paused in the APAC region from the start of the year. Marketing budgets were reduced and the lockdowns made it difficult to deliver projects already committed. We acted swiftly to trim our cost base although our core talent remains in place and primed for new business. We are expecting a number of delayed projects to kick off in the second half of the year, and foresee a recovery in the APAC region, particularly with the build-up to the Olympic Games next year.

We acquired The Hook, a leading youth entertainment brand, in April of this year, which has bolstered our presence on key social platforms including Instagram and TikTok. Advertisers have shown a strong appetite for Millennial and Gen Z audiences, and so this acquisition has enabled us to expand our relationships with brands and key media agencies. As part of the integration, we have restructured our content team and established a new development team to focus on social-first original series which we will distribute across all social platforms, as well as our own websites. We will monetise these series through brand sponsorships and programmatic advertising served via the social platforms.

We have refreshed our Board over the past six months, appointing a new Executive Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and Non-Executive Director, and streamlined the senior management team.

Financial Review

Total revenue for the period was £5.5 million, a decrease of 45% compared to the equivalent period last year (H1 2019: £10.1 million). The majority of this decrease was due to the reduction in revenue from Facebook advertising to £1.7 million (H1 2019: £4.2 million) as a result of the change in their content policy and subsequent de-monetisation of our pages part way through 2019.

Revenues were also lower in our APAC-based creative services business, totalling £1.1m (H1 2019: £3.6m), as marketing budgets were reduced and the lockdowns made it difficult to deliver projects.

Conversely, Snapchat advertising revenues showed a strong increase, generating revenues of £0.5 million (H1 2019: £nil) from four commissioned shows.

Administrative expenses have reduced by 27% to £2.6 million (H1 2019: £3.6 million). A significant portion of this is due to a reduction in staff costs, and we have also negotiated favourable payment terms with a number of suppliers.

Headcount has decreased to 55 (30 June 2019: 70). Restructuring costs in H1 2020 of £0.6 million (H1 2019: £0.4 million) relate to changes made to the senior management, APAC and publishing teams.

The Group had £2.1 million of cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2020 (30 June 2019: £3.7 million) and no overdraft or other borrowings. Cash outflows from operations increased to £2.2 million in the period (H1 2019: £1.5 million outflow).

Outlook

Streamlining our management team has allowed us to make substantial cost savings, which, when coupled with increased trading levels in June and July, has improved the outlook for the Group.

We remain acquisitive and are pursuing opportunities to expand the Group, with a number of early stage discussions ongoing. The pandemic has left many businesses exposed and we note that private market valuations have begun to come down. Our strategy of combining advertising and creative services means we have a particular interest in acquiring profitable digital and social marketing businesses, as well as high-growth media assets and social communities.

We continue to adapt to an exciting as well as challenging environment and look forward to the years ahead with confidence. I'd like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Board, to thank all our staff for their contribution and dedication to the Group's continued progress.

On behalf of the Board

Oliver Green

Executive Chairman

04 August 2020

BRAVE BISON GROUP PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT AND CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

BRAVE BISON GROUP PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

BRAVE BISON GROUP PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

BRAVE BISON GROUP PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

BRAVE BISON GROUP PLC

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1 General information

The information for the year ended 31 December 2019 does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. A copy of the statutory accounts has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts: their report was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The interim financial statements have not been audited or reviewed by the Group's auditor.

2 Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The annual financial statements of Brave Bison Group plc are prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The condensed set of financial statements included in this half yearly report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union.

The interim statement has been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Group will be able to meet its liabilities for the foreseeable future. The Group is dependent for its working capital requirements on cash generated from operations, cash holdings and from equity markets. The cash holdings of the Group at 30 June 2020 were £2.1 million.

The Directors have prepared detailed cash flow projections ("the Projections") which are based on their current expectations of trading prospects. The board forecasts that the Group will achieve positive cash inflows in 2021 and has sufficient cash on hand to reach that goal. Accordingly, the Directors have concluded that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements. The Directors are confident that the Group's forecasts are achievable, and are committed to taking any actions available to them to ensure that any shortfall in forecast revenues is mitigated by cost savings.

The Directors have looked at the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have prepared scenario plans, including looking at recovery in Q4, and the impact of a potential second wave of the pandemic. They remain confident that the Group has sufficient cash resources for a period of at least one year even in the downside scenario. The Directors have already taken mitigating actions around reducing capital expenditure and negotiating with suppliers, and are confident that they have identified cost saving actions to mitigate any impact this may have in revenue. We also have business continuity plans in place around home working and content production. Accordingly the going concern basis of accounting has been adopted in preparing these interim financial statements.

Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies applied by the Group in this condensed set of consolidated financial statements are the same as those applied by the Group in its consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December 2019 excepted as noted below.

Adoption of new and revised standards

The Group has adopted the new accounting pronouncements which have become effective this year, and are as follows:

Update to IFRS 16 "Leases"

The changes in Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions (Amendment to IFRS 16) amend IFRS 16 to

· provide lessees with an exemption from assessing whether a COVID-19-related rent concession is a lease modification;

· require lessees that apply the exemption to account for COVID-19-related rent concessions as if they were not lease modifications;

· require lessees that apply the exemption to disclose that fact; and

· require lessees to apply the exemption retrospectively in accordance with IAS 8, but not require them to restate prior period figures.

Other pronouncements

Other accounting pronouncements which have become effective from 1 January 2020 and therefore have been adopted do not have a significant impact on the Group's financial results or position.

3 Segment reporting

Management identify only one operating segment in the business, being monetising online video content. This single operating segment is monitored and strategic decisions are made on the basis of this segment alone.

As a result, only the geographic reporting of revenue analysis has been included in this note.

Geographic reporting

The information is presented based on the customers' location.

The group identifies two revenue streams, Advertising and Fee based services. The analysis of revenue and gross profit by each stream is detailed below.

3 Segment reporting - continued

Timing of revenue recognition

The following table includes revenue from contracts disaggregated by the timing of recognition.

4 Restructuring

The £0.6 million restructuring costs in the period (H1 2019: £0.4 million) relates to changes made to the senior management team and the APAC and publishing teams, and includes salary in lieu of notice and termination payments.

5 Loss per share

Both the basic and diluted loss per share have been calculated using the loss after tax attributable to shareholders of Brave Bison Group plc as the numerator, i.e. no adjustments to losses were necessary in 2020 or 2019. The calculation of the basic loss per share is based on the loss attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period.

6 Intangible Assets

During the period Brave Bison capitalised the purchase of certain assets of The Hook Group Limited, consisting of certain intellectual property rights, social media accounts, and the video content library. The cash consideration for this was £0.2 million. This has been treated as a purchase of assets and accounted for in accordance with IAS 38. The assets are being amortised over five years.

7 Property, plant and equipment

Included in the net carrying amount of property, plant and equipment are right-of-use assets as follows:

8 Share capital

Rights attributable to ordinary shares

The holders of ordinary shares are entitled to receive notice of and attend and vote at any general meeting of the Company.

9 Leases

Lease liabilities are presented in the statement of financial position as follows:

The group entered into a two year lease for an office on 1 October 2019. With the exception of short-term leases and leases of low-value underlying assets, each lease is reflected on the balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and a lease liability.

The table below describes the nature of the Group's leasing activities by type of right-of-use asset recognised on the statement of financial position:

The lease liabilities are secured by the related underlying assets. Future minimum lease payments at 30 June 2020 were as follows:

9 Leases - continued

The group has elected not to recognise a lease liability for short terms leases (leases with an expected term of 12 months or less). Payments made under such leases are expensed on a straight-line basis.

The expense relating to payments not included in the measurement of the lease liability is as follows:

The Group received a Covid-19 related rent concession during the period of £69,750. It has applied the exemption granted by the Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions (Amendment to IFRS 16) and has therefore not assessed this as a lease modification but has included it within administration expenses.

At 30 June 2020 the Group had not committed to any leases which had not yet commenced excluding those recognised as a lease liability.

10 Financial Instruments

Brave Bison categorises all financial assets and liabilities as level 1 for fair value purposes which means they are valued using quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

11 Contingent liabilities

There were no contingent liabilities at 30 June 2020 (30 June 2019 and 31 December 2019: None).

12 Transactions with Directors and other related parties

Transactions with associates during the year were:

\* The salary recharge relates to an amount paid to Tangent Marketing Services during the period for the services of Philippa Norridge as Interim CFO.