Sabio Delivers Double-Digit Q1-2023 Revenue Growth, Led by 63% Increase in Connected TV/OTT Sales

• Record first quarter revenues of US$6.5 million in Q1-2023, up 16% compared to US$5.6 million in Q1-2022
• Connected TV/OTT sales increased by 63% to US$3.8 million, compared to US$2.3 million in the prior year's quarter
• Gross margin increased to 62% in Q1-2023 from 61% in Q1-2022
• Continues to gain market share while recognizing record first quarter Connected TV/OTT revenues from new logos; Sabio expects Connected TV/OTT revenues to outpace key competitors and industry averages in 2023

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

TORONTO, May 30, 2023 /CNW/ -- Sabio Holdings Inc. (TSXV: SBIO)(OTCQX: SABOF) (the "Company" or "Sabio"), a leading provider of connected TV ("CTV")/over-the-top ("OTT") advertising platforms validated by performance, is pleased to announce its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. Unless otherwise indicated, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars.

"Our ability to post double-digit revenue growth in a challenging economic environment is a testament to our ability to retain existing customers at high rates while securing new, Fortune 500 logos," said Aziz Rahimtoola, Chief Executive Officer.  "Approximately 21% of first quarter revenues were generated from new logos, up from 12% in the prior year's quarter, presenting a significant opportunity to turn these first quarter tests into larger campaigns in the latter half of the year.  Meanwhile, we continue to grow our Connected TV/OTT business well above industry averages¹ and take market share, making us one of the fastest growing Connected TV/OTT companies in North America."

Sajid Premji, Chief Financial Officer, added, "While delayed starts to customer planning cycles had a pronounced impact during the first two months of the quarter, we delivered double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter, including a 63% increase in Connected TV/OTT sales. With a return to significant revenue growth in March, our ability to improve quarterly gross margins and the expedited implementation of cost-efficiencies culminated in Sabio delivering positive Adjusted EBITDA for the month of March.  While we expect some monthly variability, our ability to post monthly positive Adjusted EBITDA at the earliest point in our Company's history, despite the infrastructure investments and Vidillion overhead added since the prior year's period, positions us well for the rest of the year. Consistent with prior years, over 80% of our annual revenues are expected to be generated over the next three quarters."

¹ https://www.insiderintelligence.com/chart/262152/us-tv-connected-tv-ctv-ad-spending-2021-2027-billions

First Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

• Sabio delivered revenues of US$6.5M in Q1/2023, up 16% from US$5.6M in Q1/2022.
• Connected TV/OTT sales as a category increased by 63% to US$3.8 million, compared to US$2.3 million in the prior year's quarter. Connected TV/OTT sales accounted for 59% of the Company's sales mix, compared to 42% in the prior year's period.
• Mobile display revenues of US$2.5million in Q1/2023, down 23%, from US$3.25 million in Q1/2022, as our legacy mobile display campaigns continued to shift their spend with Sabio from mobile display to higher-margin mobile OTT streaming, which is recognized under the Company's Connected TV/OTT revenue category.
• App Science revenues of US$187K (up from US$2K in the prior year's quarter) included a direct test on a recurring revenue contract with an agency representing a top 10 automotive brand.
• Gross Profit of US$4.0 million in Q1/2023, up from US$3.4 million in Q1/2022. Gross Margin was 62% compared to 61% in Q1/2022. The increase in gross margin benefited through Sabio's expanded use of Vidillion Connected TV supply, the ability to continue to shift legacy mobile customers into Connected TV/OTT, and continued revenue growth in the Company's App Science business.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ loss of US$2.2 million in Q1/2023 compared to a loss of US$0.9 million in Q1/2022. While delays in customer planning cycles during the first two months drove the quarter-over-quarter increase in loss, the Company was able to offset the elimination of Covid-19 related spending with new logos, underpinning a return to significant revenue growth in March.
• As of March 31, 2023, the Company had cash of US$3.3 million, as compared to US$4 million on March 31, 2023.
• As of March 31, 2023, the Company had US$5 million outstanding under its credit facility with Avidbank, with US$2 million of untapped credit available.
  
  ¹ See "Use of Non-IFRS Measures" below

First Quarter 2023 Business Highlights

• In January 2023, the loan obligation under the Wisper Ventures Leasing, LLC promissory notes, comprising all principal and interest owned until the maturity dates, was settled in full and discharged.
• On February 6, 2023, Sabio London Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, was incorporated in London, the United Kingdom for the Company's business expansion in the United Kingdom and European markets.
• On March 17, 2023, the TSX Venture Exchange accepted a notice filed by the Company to implement a Normal Course Issuer Bid, whereupon the Company may, during the 12-month period commencing March 22, 2023, and ending March 21, 2024, purchase, for cancellation, up to 754,571 shares in total, being 5% of the total number of 15,091,425 common shares outstanding as at February 15, 2023. There were no share repurchases during the quarter.

Events Subsequent to March 31, 2023:

• On April 4, 2023, 330,000 share options of the Company were granted to certain directors and employees of the Company at an exercise price of CAD $0.99 and 353,793 RSUs of the Company were granted to certain officers and employees of the Company at the grant-date fair-value of the Company's common shares of CAD $0.99. The options will vest quarterly from the grant date over a 3-year vesting period. The RSUs will vest over three years with 1/3 vesting at the one-year anniversary of the grant and quarterly vesting over the next two years.

¹ See "Use of Non-IFRS Measures" below 

Sabio's interim consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, and management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the three months ended March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2022, can be found under Sabio's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com

Outlook

In what is traditionally the slowest quarter of the calendar year due to the seasonal trends effecting the advertising industry, the Company continued its expansion into the Connected TV/OTT market by delivering 63% revenue growth in the category, driving Sabio's double-digit consolidated revenue growth for the quarter as we continue to outpace a growing industry and take market share. Despite delayed starts to customer planning cycles that led to monthly declines in January and Februarys, significant revenue growth returned in March, reinforcing Management's expectation of continued revenue growth and market share gains in 2023. Moreover, Management has the ability to quickly adapt our operating infrastructure accordingly, as demonstrated by delivering positive Adjusted EBITDA for the month of March.  While we expect some monthly, short-term inconsistencies in Adjusted EBITDA as macro interest rate policies and labor shortages continue to drive monthly spend variability, Management notes that this is the earliest month in Company history that monthly positive Adjusted EBITDA was obtained, despite the additional overhead from our acquisition of Vidillion (acquired in Q2/2022) and the heavy investments in on operating infrastructure completed through the first half of 2022.  During the quarter, approximately 79% of consolidated revenues came from repeat customers as Sabio continues to attract and retain customers at higher rates, bringing more stability to its revenue model and increasing its cost efficiencies. Additionally, approximately 21% of the revenue in the quarter was generated from logos that did not spend with Sabio previously (compared to 12% in Q1/2022), presenting a potential opportunity to further expand the Company's share of the wallet with these new nameplates, just as Sabio did with existing clientele in 2022. The Company has also implemented several cost-cutting initiatives.  Management believes our complete end-to-end CTV/OTT technology stack in combination with fiscal discipline will position us well to maintain positive Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2023. As Sabio becomes more efficient, our supply path optimization strategy, enhanced through our acquisition of Vidillion in April 2022, benefited gross margins during the quarter. Approximately 70% of Sabio's CTV impressions delivered are through direct supply, making Sabio one of the highest direct supply options in the CTV/OTT space.  Furthermore, App Science analytics and insights are helping to deliver incremental spend on Sabio's DSP in an ROI-driven environment.

Continuing the trend from the previous year, Connected TV and OTT streaming was Sabio's dominant sales category and represented 59% of our sales mix during the current quarter.  The rapid growth of the category further validates the differentiated positioning of Sabio's ecosystem to continue capitalizing on the burgeoning Connected TV/OTT streaming advertising market in 2023, particularly in the second half of the year where in a continuation of seasonal trends, the majority of the Company's annual revenues are expected to be generated.  In 2021 and 2022, over 80% of the Company's annual sales were generated between the second and fourth quarter of the year.

To the extent the Company finds suitable and attractive acquisition candidates that are complementary to its long-term objectives, Sabio may also pursue further inorganic growth through strategic business acquisitions.

¹ See "Use of Non-IFRS Measures" below 

Selected Financials

The tables below set out selected financial information relating to Sabio Holdings Inc. and should be read in conjunction with Sabio Holdings Inc.'s condensed interim consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, and MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2022, copies of which can be found under Sabio Holdings Inc.'s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

¹ See "Use of Non-IFRS Measures" below 

The financial disclosures in this news release are subject to a number of cautionary statements, assumptions, contingencies and risks as set forth in this news release. The foregoing outlook and expectations constitute forward-looking statements and financial outlook and are qualified in their entirety by the "Forward-Looking Statements" cautionary statement below. Readers are cautioned that this release if for information purposes only and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Conference Call:

The Company will host an investor conference call for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. ET on May 31, 2023.  The webinar details are below:

Date:  May 31, 2023

Time: 9:00 a.m. ET (6:00 a.m. PT)

Webinar Registration: https://bit.ly/41acoQA

Please connect 5 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be required.

About Sabio

Sabio Holdings Inc. (TSXV: SBIO) (OTCQX: SABOF) is one of the fastest-growing CTV/OTT technology and service providers in the high-growth ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) and streaming space. Its cloud-based CTV/OTT technologies provide publishers with distribution, monetization, and analytics while delivering ROI validation for brands and agencies. The Sabio Holdings portfolio is comprised of: Sabio ? our trusted and transparent content monetization DSP; App Sciencetm ? our cutting edge, non-panel based, real-time measurement and attribution SAAS platform; and Vidillion ? our cloud-based ad-insertion, and content distribution and management platform.

For more information, visit: sabioholding.com    

Use of Non-IFRS Measures

This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) measures including, but not limited to, Adjusted EBITDA.  These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of financial information reported under IFRS.  Rather, these non-IFRS measures are provided as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing a further understanding of operations from management's perspective.

Management uses adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") as a key financial metric to evaluate Sabio's operating performance as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS. The term "Adjusted EBITDA", as defined by management, refers to net income (loss) before adjusting earnings for finance costs, income taxes, stock-based compensation, amortization, non-recurring items, and severance costs.  Refer to reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA under the "Selected Financials" section of this release and in the Company's MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022, copies of which can be found under Sabio Holdings Inc.'s profile on SEDAR at  www.sedar.com

Management believes that the items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are not connected to and do not represent the operating performance of Sabio. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by Sabio's main business activities prior to taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed as well as expenses related to stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, restructuring costs, other expense (income), and foreign exchange (gain) loss. Accordingly, management believes that this measure may also be useful to investors in enhancing their understanding of Sabio's operating performance. It is a key measure used by Sabio's management and board of directors to understand and evaluate Sabio's operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including but not limited to the Company's operations, growth and sales expectations and business plans, and the Company's outlook for fiscal 2023, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts"  and other similar expressions. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events that may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control, including the effect of the macro-economic environment adversely impacting the Company's business more than anticipated, unexpected funding and cash flow management difficulties, and the other risk factors disclosed in the Company's filing statement and management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), which are  publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company has assumed that the material factors referred to herein will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 

App Science is a trademark or registered trademark of Sabio Inc. in the United States, Canada, and other countries.

SOURCE Sabio Holdings Inc.