VIDENDUM PLC Enabling the capture and sharing of exceptional content
Annual Report and Accounts 2023
Capture.
Share.
Our purpose is to enable the capture and sharing of exceptional content.
We are a leading global provider of premium branded hardware products and software solutions to the content creation market.
Discover our Divisions:
Media | Production | Creative |
Solutions | Solutions | Solutions |
See page 16 | See page 20 | See page 24 |
Strategic Report | Corporate Governance | Financial Statements | 01 |
Contents
Strategic Report
2023 financial summary | 02 |
Understanding Videndum and our brands | 04 |
Our global footprint | 06 |
Strategic framework | 08 |
Market opportunity | 10 |
Chairman's welcome | 12 |
CEO's review | 13 |
Media Solutions | 16 |
Production Solutions | 20 |
Creative Solutions | 24 |
Operational and financial review | 28 |
Key Performance Indicators | 34 |
Principal risks and uncertainties | 36 |
Our stakeholders | 42 |
Responsible business | 44 |
Videndum's roadmap to net zero | 46 |
Task Force on Climate-related | |
Financial Disclosures report ("TCFD") | 47 |
Environment | 60 |
Our people | 62 |
Giving back | 66 |
Responsible practices | 68 |
Non-Financial and Sustainability | |
Information Statement | 71 |
Corporate Governance
Chairman's statement | 72 |
A snapshot of governance | 74 |
Board of Directors | 76 |
Leadership, purpose, values and culture | 78 |
The role of the Board | 80 |
Section 172 statement | 86 |
Board roles and the division of responsibilities | 92 |
Composition, succession and evaluation | 95 |
Nominations Committee report | 98 |
Audit, risk and internal control | 102 |
Audit Committee report | 105 |
Remuneration report | 112 |
Directors' Remuneration Policy | 116 |
Annual Report on Remuneration | 125 |
Directors' report | 143 |
Financial Statements
Independent auditor's report | 147 | ||
Introduction and table of contents | 155 | ||
Primary statements | 156 | ||
Section 1 - Basis of Preparation | 161 | ||
Section 2 | - Results for the Year | 167 | |
Section 3 | - Operating Assets & Liabilities | 182 | |
Section 4 | - Capital Structure | 196 | |
Section 5 | - Other Supporting Notes | 207 | |
Company Financial Statements | 218 | ||
Glossary of Alternative Performance Measures | 226 | ||
videndum.com | Five Year Financial Summary | 233 | |
Shareholder Information and Financial Calendar | 234 |
02 | Videndum plc Annual Report and Accounts 2023 |
2023 financial summary
Revenue
from continuing operations†
£306.9m
Down 31%
2023 £306.9m
2022 £442.5m
2021 £394.3m
Statutory operating loss
-£65.2m
Down £96.7m
Basic Loss Per Share
-157.5p
Down 228.9p
Adjusted operating profit* from continuing operations†
£12.8m
Down 81%
2023 £12.8m
2022 £66.2m
2021 £46.2m
Adjusted operating margin* from continuing operations†
4.2%
Down 1080 bps
Adjusted basic Earnings Per Share* from continuing operations†
8.5p
Down 88.3p
Net debt*
£128.5m
Down 34%
2023 £128.5m
2022 £193.5m
2021 £145.2m
Statutory operating margin
-20.7%
Down 2770 bps
2023 financial summary
- Financial performance significantly impacted by three headwinds: strikes by US writers and actors1; challenging macroeconomic environment; and destocking.
- FY 2023 revenue from continuing operations 31% lower year-on-year.
- H2 2023 revenue 36% lower vs H2 2022 as significantly more impact from the strikes in H2 than in H1.
- Adjusted operating expenses* from continuing operations £21.2 million (17%) lower vs 2022 partly due to self-help actions and synergies from site restructuring.
- Adjusted operating profit* from continuing operations of £12.8 million (81% lower vs 2022) reflecting a 39% dropthrough* on the lower revenue, compared to a marginal contribution of c.50%
- 84% cash conversion* from continuing operations.
- In response to the headwinds, £125 million (£117.9 million net) equity raised to deleverage and enable delivery of the Group's strategy.
- FY 2023 leverage of 3.3x, due to significantly depressed EBITDA; within lending covenant limit of 4.25x.
Current trading and outlook
- Industry confidence in the post-strike recovery remains strong, however the significant pick up in the cine and scripted TV market anticipated in March did not materialise and is now expected from June.
- Macroeconomic environment affecting the consumer and independent content creator segments remains challenging; nonetheless management believes that the rate of decline is starting to show signs of improvement, and that destocking is largely completed.
-
Broadcast TV segment performing well, with our market-leading robotics, AI autonomous presenter-tracking software and speech recognition prompting technology driving cost efficiencies for studios; the Group's second half performance will benefit from the Summer 2024 Olympic Games and the
US Presidential election.
- As a result of the slower than anticipated recovery in the cine and scripted TV market, trading in our traditionally smallest first quarter ended up being below our expectations.
- Net debt at 31 March 2024 was £122.4 million, £6.1 million lower than at 31 December 2023.
- Leverage at 31 March 2024 of 3.0x; within lending covenant limit of 4.25x. The Group continues to prioritise reducing leverage to its targeted range of below 1.5x.
- The Board remains confident that the Group will benefit from a strong recovery in the second half of 2024 as the cine and scripted TV market gradually recovers, although the pace and shape of the post-strike recovery is uncertain.
- The Group continues to control costs, capex and working capital tightly.
- Videndum remains well positioned in a content creation market which has attractive structural growth drivers and good medium- term prospects.
1 The Writers Guild of America ("WGA") was on strike from 2 May to 27 September 2023 and the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ("SAG-AFTRA") were on strike from 14 July to 9 November 2023. WGA's contract was ratified on 9 October 2023 and SAG-AFTRA's contract was ratified on 5 December 2023.
- Amimon was held for sale at 31 December 2023 and Lightstream was sold on 2 October 2023; both are reported as discontinued operations. The operation at Syrp (the Media Solutions' motion controls R&D centre in New Zealand) was wound down so is reported in discontinued operations. FY 2022 has been re-presented to ensure fair comparability. Statutory Results from continuing and discontinued operations are per those reported in the 2022 Annual Report. Results of discontinued operations can be found in note 2.2 to the condensed financial statements. Continuing operations are indicated with a † throughout this report.
- In addition to statutory reporting, Videndum plc reports Alternative Performance Measures ("APMs") which are not defined or specified under the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). The Group uses these APMs to aid the comparability of information between reporting periods and Divisions, by adjusting for certain items which impact upon IFRS measures, to aid the user in understanding the activity taking place across the Group's businesses. APMs are used by the Directors and Management for performance analysis, planning, reporting and incentive purposes. A summary of APMs used and their closest equivalent statutory measures is given in the Glossary on pages 226 to 232. APMs are indicated by a * throughout this report.
Strategic Report | Corporate Governance | Financial Statements | 03 |
Image: Still Moving
04 | Videndum plc Annual Report and Accounts 2023 |
Understanding Videndum
About us
We design and manufacture
- portfolio of market-leading, premium brands - from traditional mechanically engineered products through to electronics and software.
Videndum's purpose is to enable our customers, in a full range of creative industries, to capture and share content through a wide variety of media.
Videndum's success is dependent on our ability to understand and respond to our customers' needs.
Our core customers can be categorised as:
TV broadcaster, production company, independent content creator ("ICC") and professional sound crew
Producing video and audio content for TV programmes, live news or live sports events
Film or production company, including independent film-makersMaking content for feature films and scripted TV shows to share in cinemas or on subscription channels like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+
and Disney+
Professional photographer/videographer, including prosumer
Creating and sharing digital content for social media platforms or retail e-commerce, where images and videos of new products are frequently published online
Influencer/vlogger
Creating and sharing video and audio content on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram
Live streaming enterprise, including government, education establishment or house of worship
Creating video and audio content
to stream live or pre-recorded to their employees, customers and communities
Our brands
Our brands are leaders in the niche markets we serve, in terms of premium products, technology innovation and/or market share. Our products typically attach to, or support,
a camera - primarily for broadcast, cinematic, video, photographic, audio and smartphone applications - and are offered as a cohesive package.
Distribution, rental & services
Camera Corps
The Camera Store
Mobile power
Anton/Bauer
Audio capture
AUDIX
JOBY
Rycote
IP video
Teradek
Monitors
SmallHD
Smartphonography
JOBY
For more information visit our website: videndum.com/about-us/our-brands
05 | |||
Strategic Report | Corporate Governance | Financial Statements |
Backgrounds | Camera | Carrying solutions |
Colorama | accessories | Gitzo |
Savage | Teradek | Lowepro |
Superior | Wooden Camera | Manfrotto |
National Geographic1 | ||
Sachtler |
Lens control systems | Lighting and lighting control | |||||
Teradek | JOBY | |||||
Litepanels | ||||||
Manfrotto | ||||||
Quasar Science | ||||||
Prompters | Robotic camera | Supports and |
Autocue | systems | stabilisers |
Autoscript | Camera Corps | Avenger |
Vinten | Gitzo | |
JOBY | ||
Manfrotto | ||
National Geographic1 | ||
OConnor | ||
Sachtler | ||
Vinten |
Video transmission systems
Teradek
1Manufactured under licence.
06 | Videndum plc Annual Report and Accounts 2023 |
Our global footprint
We employ around 1,600 people
in ten different countries and are organised in three Divisions: Media Solutions, Production Solutions and Creative Solutions.
UK
US
Italy
Germany
Israel
Costa Rica
Where we operate
Sites in ten countries; sell into 100+ countries
Well-invested manufacturing facilities in Italy, Costa Rica, UK and US
R&D centres in Italy, UK, US and Israel
Far East Procurement Centre in Shenzen, China
Distribution centres in UK, Germany, China, Australia, Singapore and Japan
Strategic Report | Corporate Governance | Financial Statements |
2023 revenue
North America: 44% | APAC: 16% |
Europe: 35% | Rest of world: 5% |
07
Our core values
We have a clear purpose that is founded on a set of core values that form the Videndum Mindset: "Enabling the capture and sharing of exceptional content".
Exceptional product performance
We set the highest standards of technical performance
Customer focus
We are nothing without our customers
Leading a fast-changing market
We apply our creativity and harness our diversity to engineer innovative new products and solutions
Global capability
We share knowledge, pool resources, test ideas and learn from each other
Transparency, integrity, respect
We hold to the highest professional and corporate standards
Environmental consciousness
We seek to limit our impact on the environment and create long-term business sustainability
China
Japan
People and culture
Our employees are key to our success. Their experience, market knowledge and commitment create a culture of innovation, operational excellence, creativity and integrity.
Singapore
Australia
Manufacturing sites | R&D sites |
Procurement centre | Distribution sites |
The Group's decentralised structure with three Divisions allows us to react quickly to customer, market and technological changes, constantly innovating to make our products the best in our industry. This, together with our entrepreneurial culture, enables focused decision making and minimised bureaucracy.
We work to ensure that we have consistent policies and processes in place across the Group. We have comprehensive operating guidelines and internal communications plans which keep our employees informed, and our manufacturing teams ensure stringent health and safety protocols. We are a responsible business, focusing on supporting the communities we operate in and further reducing our impact on the environment.
Read more on page 62
08 | Videndum plc Annual Report and Accounts 2023 |
Strategic framework
Videndum's purpose is to enable our customers to capture and share exceptional content, and this is what guides us. Our strategy is to focus on the professional end of the content creation market, operating in defensible niche market segments where our premium brands have strong share.
Our long-term strategy is to invest in areas where we can grow organically, while improving our margins and, over the longer-term, to grow through M&A.
Core competencies
We believe that our core competencies differentiate us from the competition. Our experienced people have good tenure and really understand the content creation market.
1. Technology leadership
Designing innovative solutions to make our customers' lives easier is what drives us. Because our people understand our end users' needs, we are good at developing differentiated new products that they want. This gives us strong pricing power and also drives demand for new and replacement products.
2. Worldwide channel strength
The breadth of our product portfolio and strong brand heritage means that our ability to access the channel to our customers is unrivalled
in the niche markets we serve.
3. Sourcing and manufacturing excellence
We believe that control of the manufacturing process gives us a competitive advantage.
1. | Image: Joesfin Kuschela |
Technology leadership
Track record of innovative new product development through customer-led R&D
Intelligent and sustained investment in new products, technologies, markets and people enables us to ensure that our award-winning brands remain at the forefront of the industry, recognised for their premium offerings and innovative technology.
We continually obtain feedback on market trends, from customers, as well as from research. Our experienced, specialist engineers apply new technologies and materials to develop high-quality,high-performance solutions to improve customers' productivity by developing products which can reduce set up time, lower operating costs and unlock creativity.
Our innovative products are protected by patents and trademarks and are marketed under well-known brands. We take product quality and customer safety very seriously and our products are manufactured to the highest standards and rigorously tested.
We are progressively integrating sustainable product development into our brand strategies using a "cradle-to-grave" Product Life Cycle Assessment ("PLCA"). This includes evaluating raw materials, manufacturing processes, waste, packaging, distribution and end-of-life.
We manufacture the majority of our products in-house and work with selected, market-leading partners for specialist solutions. In-house new product development has been supplemented with carefully selected acquisitions or partnerships in new markets and technologies.
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Disclaimer
Videndum plc published this content on 08 May 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 08 May 2024 15:06:03 UTC.
