Article
Online video boom leads search engine blinkx to soaring sales
25 Apr 2013
By James Titcomb
The ever-growing demand for online videos has propelled blinkx, the video search engine, to a stunning rise in sales.
The company blew away expectations yesterday by revealing that revenues in the 12 months to April are expected to be 71 per cent higher than the previous year. The announcement sent shares up 12.5 per cent as sales of $196m (£128.5m) beat City expectations.
“This has been an exceptional year for blinkx,” the firm’s chief executive S. Brian Mukherjee said. “Widespread broadband adoption, proliferation of connected devices and the accelerating consumption of video content online continue to fuel the growth of the industry.”
As well, as a broader demand for online video, Blinkx said that improving advertising sales had been fuelled by the US presidential election and the Olympics, as well as the positive impact from acquisitions.
The company, which was part of software firm Autonomy before it listed in 2007, said that annual profits will be around $15m, up from $1.9m in the previous year.
Shares in the company have doubled in the last 12 months, due to repeated upgrades to revenue guidance, although they are still well off the highs of 17 months ago. The firm’s value plummeted in November 2011 after a profit drop.
