- UK high-end tv market growing consistently
- Trend towards longer, higher-fee productions
- Blue-chip client base with cross-selling potential
Facilities by ADF (ADF:AIM), the UK’s leading provider of premium serviced production units to the film and high-end tv industry, posted a solid set of full-year results in line with market forecasts.
The shares gained as much as 7% to 58.5p before settling 5.5% higher at 57.5p on above-average volume.
HIGH-PROFILE REPERTOIRE
In its first full year as a listed business, the company generated revenue of £31.4 million, up 13% on the previous period, and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of £7.9 million against £7.7 million a year earlier.
While the number of productions was higher than 2021, the first half of last year saw a larger number of shorter projects with a larger geographical spread which meant additional transport costs for moving equipment.
In the second half, the firm worked on larger productions mostly clustered around London, a trend which looks like continuing in the first half of this year, meaning higher revenues per job.
Productions last year included widely-watched programmes such as Happy Valley for ITV (ITV); the fifth season of drama series The Crown, fantasy-drama The Sandman and comedy-drama Sex Education for US streaming firm Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ); thriller series Slow Horses for Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ); and comedy-drama series I Hate Suzie for Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ).
SCOPE FOR LONG-TERM GROWTH
Due to growing demand for its services, the firm has expanded its geographic reach with a new office at Pioneer Film Studios in Scotland to serve the growing number of production firm filming in the region.
Meanwhile, its new flagship five-acre hub at Longcross in Surrey is fully operational, serving Elstree, Leavesden, Pinewood and Shepperton Studios among others.
The company also made an acquisition last November, buying Location One, the UK’s largest integrated tv and film location service and equipment hire company.
The deal is highly complementary and provides opportunities to cross-sell services to both firms’ customers through a central point, making ADF more of a premium one-stop-shop for the film and tv industry.
With spending on high-end tv production up 11% to £6.7 billion last year, chief executive Marsden Proctor believes the prospects for ADF are ‘increasingly positive’ thanks to its ‘growing addressable market, an expanding network of contacts, an enhanced offering and a high-quality business model’.
