With great pride and joy, I present the annual report for the Brightcom
Group. It was an unprecedented year of exceptional growth - 75.8% Business increase -
bringing in Rs. 5019 crores, the fastest growth in the Company's history thus far.
The fiscal was also remarkable for the Global Digital Advertising and
Marketing space at about $500 billion, slated to grow to $800 billion in the next three
years, with a high growth clip. All this is fuelled by the growing global Internet users
(5.1 billion), Smart Phone users (6.7 billion), E-Commerce economy size
( $20 trillion, CAGR 25%), and the overall macro trend of Digitization,
Digitalization & Digital Transformation of businesses.
Performance & Operations
Your Company has delivered a stellar operational & financial
performance, Consolidated Revenues of Rs.5019 Crores (75.8% YOY growth), PAT of Rs. 912.2
Crores (88.86% growth), and EBITDA of Rs. 1504 Crores (69.78% growth). We continue to
track two critical parameters of performance: Return on Equity(ROE), which stands at
17.23%; Operating Free Cash Flow (FCF) reached Rs.287 Crores by the end of the fiscal year
2022 and continues to grow. The team has delivered high growth across all our geographies,
including North America, Latin America, Asia & Europe. I am incredibly pleased to
announce that we have about 250 Global Agency Relationships, 600 Direct Advertisers, 650
odd large publishers and more than 48,000 long-tail publishers. I am proud to note that we
have crossed serving 90 billion impressions per month during the year. To top it all,
Brightcom continues to remain a debt-free company.
Key Highlights:
Product, People, Events
To be a significant player in the AdTech space, we strongly believe in
building effective tech platforms like Brightcom Programmatic, Compass, VoloMP, Proxy-
tool, and Pangea. I am also happy to put on record that our relaunched COMPASS has been
helping in optimizing Brand / Client advertisements across media formats, thus leading to
better eCPMs for all. This has led to higher client satisfaction, thus driving a higher
share of ad pie to us. Also, our new platforms, B-local Exchange & Bright Video
player, have started contributing to our overall business. It is also crucial for me to
state that we have opened our latest office in Berlin, which has developed to be one of
the hubs of technology, creativity & marketing. In line with our focus on getting
Experts
"Regarding sunrise areas, we would like to invest in cutting-edge
areas like AI/ML, loT and Quantum computing. While we would like to take advantage of
appropriate inorganic opportunities that fit our strategic purpose, the cornerstone would
be our focus on being highly Capital efficient to get there."
with Stellar track records into our team, we have the following Senior
leaders who joined us: Mr. Satish Cheeti as President & Head of Digital Audio
Division, Mr. Peshwa Acharya as President of Group Strategy, Mr. Nilendu Chakraborty as
Independent Director & Chairman Audit Committee, Mr. Narayan Raju as Chief Financial
Officer.
During the year, our local teams participated in various Ad Tech events
globally to ensure the salience of Brightcom Group & our platforms in the domain: ATS
London 2022, d3con Advertiser day, Advertising Week Europe, AdMonsters, and OPS NYC, to
name a few.
Operational Strategy
We remain focussed on domains that will experience robust growth driven
by long-term trends in digital marketing & technology like Video as a key Digital
medium, Connected TV, Omni channel play and Digital Audio. Thus our strategy is built
around driving effective monetization of our publishers, driving Ad effectiveness of our
clients, and using Tech Platforms to the hilt, thus creating a virtuous AdTech ecosystem.
We will continue with new product introductions, and enter new
areas of growth, both organically & Inorganically, as deemed
appropriate. We strongly believe that Digital Audio would be a significant growth area for
digital Advertisements. Regarding sunrise areas, we would like to invest in cutting-edge
areas like AI/ML, IoT and Quantum computing. While we would like to take advantage of
appropriate inorganic opportunities that fit our strategic purpose, the cornerstone would
be our focus on being highly Capital efficient to get there.
Looking Ahead
It is a privilege to pursue our passion for creating a better world by
integrating technology, science and principles of Physics into various walks of life and
business. To achieve long-term business growth, we will invest in strengthening our
competitive advantages, be disciplined in capital allocation and stay diligent in our
pursuit of efficiencies.
Artificial Intelligence will remain the core driver of all our
platforms. AI is being applied across everything we do in the Company.
I believe AI will profoundly transform pretty much every sector. One
can see the potential in industries like Healthcare, Communication, Energy and
Manufacturing, to mention a few.
This evolution will continue for another ten years to fully play out,
but we see great potential. The question remains on how do you make sure we develop AI so
that it does not harm the human race and its intelligence. Humanity has been very good
with every technology in harnessing it to benefit the larger society. I am optimistic the
same will be the outcome with AI. Other areas that continue to fascinate us are IoT and
Quantum Computing.
We firmly believe that when our employees, customers, communities, and
shareholders win, we win with them. I take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to our
team, staff and business associates across the globe for their commitment and contribution
to the Brightcom Group. I take this opportunity also to record my appreciation for my
fellow directors in guiding the Company. Last but not least, on behalf of the entire Board
of Directors and the management team, I would like to thank you, the Brightcom family, for
your continued trust, guidance and support.
Yours Sincerely, Suresh Reddy