Banzai Ends the Year With Revenues Up 27% and Exceeds its Revenue Growth Targets for FY15

MILAN, February 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• +27.0% revenue growth in FY15 (Euro 234.8 million vs Euro 185.0 million in FY14) with a further market share expansion in the reference markets (e-Commerce and digital advertising):  
  • +37.5% increase of GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) to Euro 260 million driven by the Merchant Marketplace launched in 2015
  • +28.5% in e-Commerce revenues (ePRICE and Saldiprivati) driven by core categories which grew by 33% YoY
  • +15.0% revenue growth in the Vertical Content area (including Giallozafferano.it, Pianetadonna.it, Studenti.it)

• +27.6% revenue growth in 4Q15 (Euro 82.6 million vs Euro 64.7 million in 4Q14)  
  • +37.4% GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) growth to Euro 92 million;
  • +28.2% in e-Commerce revenue (+31.2% in core categories)
  • +22.4% revenue growth in the Vertical Content area, also driven by AdKaora, a newly-acquired company in the mobile advertising sector.

The Board of Directors of Banzai, Italy's first national e-Commerce platform and one of the leading Italian digital publishers, listed on the STAR segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, has approved the preliminary revenues as at 31 December 2015.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150720/238307LOGO )

"The first year of Banzai on the Italian Stock Exchange ends better than expected in terms of revenue growth"- stated Paolo Ainio, Executive Chairman - "Banzai has significantly increased its market share, in particular in the domestic appliances and electronics categories, in which it confirms its leadership position in the online channel." Pietro Scott Jovane, Chief Executive Officer said: "Indeed, the revenue trend in the fourth quarter confirms the outstanding growth achieved in the previous nine months, also thanks to the growth of the Pick&Pay® distribution network, which has hit the milestone of 100 stores, and the launch of the Merchant Marketplace. In the fourth quarter, ePRICE first ever TV campaign was aired, with positive effects on brand awareness."

Preliminary revenues of fourth quarter 2015 

The 4Q15 performance shows a strong growth in both absolute and relative terms: revenues amounted to 82.6 million euro with a +27.6% increase versus 64.7 million euro in 4Q14.

In particular in the e-Commerce core categories, Banzai with its ePRICE and Saldiprivati platforms reported a +31.2% compared with the previous year (+44.5% in 3Q14, +33.7% in 2Q15 and +26.4% in 1Q15), therefore essentially confirming the trend of 9M15, net of the 3Q15 peak resulting from the sales of air conditioners. The Merchant Marketplace continued its strong traction during the fourth quarter of the year. Lastly, in the 4Q15, the Vertical Content division outperformed its reference market in organic terms.

Preliminary revenues as at 31 December 2015 

In FY15 amount to 234.8 million euro, +27% compared to 185.0 million euro of the previous year.

With e-Commerce revenues of 210.6 million euro in FY15, growing by 28.5% versus FY14, this division remains the main growth driver of the Group, driven by the core categories.

The Vertical Content division posted revenues of 24.2 million euro mainly generated from advertising sales and grew 15% YoY, reporting a further acceleration compared with the previous quarters (+22.4% versus 4Q14).

In FY15 the e-Commerce division reported a 33.0% revenue growth in the core categories (Electronic Goods and Domestic Appliances, Apparel/other) compared with FY14. In particular, revenues from the "Electronic Goods and Domestic Appliances" category amounting to 147.6 million euro in FY15 show a 38% growth.

In December, the first TV campaign ever of ePRICE was launched on the main Italian TV networks with over 2,500 ads aired.

In November, according to comScore, Banzai was the second digital property in Italy, after Google, with 23.8 million Unique Monthly users.

SOURCE Banzai SpA