Hollywood strikes hit ZOO Digital revenues
In the six months ended September 30 2023, the group’s revenues decreased by 58 per cent to $21.4m, primarily as a result of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes.
However, following a subdued first half, the group has started the second half with a stronger order book from major customers.
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Hide AdStuart Green, CEO of ZOO Digital, commented: “The year to date has been overshadowed by the first joint strike of Hollywood actors and writers in more than 60 years.
"This temporary disruption has had a significant impact across our sector and the wider media and entertainment industry, resulting in artificially low production volumes in the short-term.
"While this has had a significant impact on our financial performance, we have taken targeted measures to conserve cash while positioning the business to recover rapidly once orders return to more usual levels.
“As the streaming industry focuses increasingly on profitability, we are already seeing evidence that major buyers are relying on fewer vendors and prioritising those with end-to-end capacity and scale. This puts ZOO in a strong position to process higher volumes of work from customers over time, particularly as we make strategic investments in customers’ high-priority growth regions.
“With the resolution of the strikes, we look to the future with optimism and anticipate a phased return of orders in the second half, accelerating into FY25.”