Hollywood film studios subtitling provider Zoo Digital says financial outturn for 2019 ‘frustrating’

The Sheffield-based firm, which provides subtitles for Hollywood film studios, said revenue for the year is expected to be in line with expectations at $29.0m, compared to $28.5m last year.

Total localisation revenues grew 5 per cent to $22.6m against a strong comparative figure that included a one-off project with a value of $2.5m for a major studio, THE COMPANY SAID.

Zoo Digital added that subtitling revenues had recovered strongly and cloud dubbing service revenues were up 17 per cent for the year during which the business was engaged on initial projects for eight major TV and film production studios.

Stuart Green, chief executive of Zoo Digital, said: “The financial outturn for 2019 is frustrating, having been impacted by market shifts and client disruption, but we are pleased that the business has grown and been cash generative.

“We have been able to meet our investment and operational objectives which leave us well placed in markets globally where the requirement for premium media localisation clearly continues to increase.”

The firm said it is well positioned to respond to a rapidly changing entertainment industry and the boom in demand for TV and movie content through streaming services.

This investment, together with the faster than expected acceleration in the decline in legacy packaged media revenue, which Zoo Digital says does not form part of its long-term strategy, has impacted on profitability with adjusted earnings in the second half around break-even.

Mr Green said: “We believe demand for our cloud-based services is building, client adoption is accelerating and our recently launched ZOOstudio platform has been well received in the market. We are confident for the future.”