Post
by richard@imutual » Tue Dec 31 2019 10:12am
Yes, happy to give a trading update; the AGM is an appropriate time to do so. This is all subject to the usual caveats about the accuracy of such figures, which largely consists of unconfirmed/unpaid amounts from advertisers. So I can only comment on broad trends rather than give specific amounts...
As I have pointed out previously, we have enjoyed some great paid-to-search offers over the last 18 months or so which, as anticipated, came to an end in July. Since then, it looks like we've been operating at a small loss. That should not be of any great concern for the following reasons:
- Good offers come and go. In all likelihood, we'll get some new sources of revenue next year which will help to improve the financial position.
- We have just reported the company's best ever financial results, with the strongest balance sheet we've ever had. We are well-placed to ride out such fluctuations in revenue
- Cashback balances have always been protected by a Directors Guarantee, even in the highly unlikely event of company insolvency. This is unique to imutual
- Even if revenue does not increase, we have the flexibility to reduce overheads as required. From this week onwards, we're operating with 2 staff rather than 3 but salaries etc still represent the majority of costs. The hard work undertaken over the last 12 months or so has semi-automated many tasks, meaning that the time needed to help the site "tick over" is much reduced. If absolutely necessary, we could reduce our time (and salary) even further to help the site ride out any turbulent periods - though I don't anticipate that this will be necessary.
I would certainly expect the next set of accounts to report us operating at a loss; partly due to the loss of certain offers but also because I've been focused on technical development rather than commercial matters, the benefits of which should be realised in the future.
I wouldn't anticipate any great surge in traffic or signups until the revamped site is launched, but will endeavour to start providing a monthly "web site traffic" report as you requested a few months back.