Digital ad software company Viant Technology LLC sees “market dynamics shifting in our favor” as it projects strong revenue growth for the current quarter.
Irvine-based Viant (Nasdaq: DSP) on Aug. 12 reported a record quarter for total advertiser spend on its platform, with all-time highs in both connected television (‘CTV’) and streaming audio advertiser spend.
Viant’s business — known as programmatic advertising — helps marketers and their agencies buy ads anywhere electronically.
Its software enables ad buyers to plan, create, execute and measure their digital advertising purchases through a cloud-based platform.
The company said second-quarter revenue rose to $65.9 million, up 15% from the same period a year earlier and above the analysts’ estimate.
Net income was $1.5 million, well up from a loss of $3.2 million. The shares are up more than 50% so far this year and were trading at $10.89 apiece for a market cap of $688 million as of Aug. 22.
‘Market Shift’
“We are very pleased with our second quarter results, marked by record advertiser spend on our platform,” said Tim Vanderhook, Viant co-founder and CEO.
“We are seeing a market shift where advertisers are increasingly looking for alternatives to the largest legacy players in the industry, and we believe our position as a self-service, buy side platform, along with our vision for autonomous advertising are key reasons why advertisers are increasing spend with Viant.”
The company is located at the corner of Michelson Drive and Jamboree Road in Irvine, about a mile from John Wayne Airport.
Viant also said it is launching ViantAI, which integrates its AI-enabled tools to make planning, buying, measurement and optimization of programmatic advertising easier and more effective for customers.
“Programmatic advertising is rapidly taking market share from traditional ad sales channels, which require more staffing, offer less transparency and involve higher costs to buyers,” the company says on its website.
For the current quarter, finishing at the end of September, the company sees revenue in the range of $67.5 million to $70.5 million, well above the $59.6 million recorded in the same period the year before.
Adjusted EBITDA, a key measure of profitability, is expected to be in the range of $11 million to $12 million, up from $9.7 million the previous year.
In a conference call with analysts shortly after the results were released, CEO Vanderhook said the company has had “great success this year attracting new customers to our platform.”
Large Customers
“Our pipeline of large customers continues to grow, and we feel very good about our ability to win more of these advertisers over the long term,” he added.
Investor website Simply Wall Street said on Aug. 13 that Viant may be nearing “breakeven,” the point when it starts to turn an annual profit.
“According to the 6 industry analysts covering Viant Technology, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2023, before generating positive profits of U.S. $1.2 million in 2024,” the website said.
The company is therefore projected to break even around 12 months from now or less, according to Simply Wall Street.
Separately, Viant said Aug. 15 it was named the winner of the Best Demand-Side Platform (DSP) category in the 7th annual MarTech Breakthrough Awards. The intelligence organization recognizes the top companies and technologies in the global marketing and advertising technology industry. This year’s program attracted thousands of nominations from over 15 different countries around the world.
Viant said it was honored to be the inaugural winner of the new award category “Best DSP.” n
