Digital Media Solutions, Inc. Announces Q1 2023 Financial Results

By: Digital Media Solutions, Inc. via Business Wire

May 15, 2023 at 16:15 PM EDT

First-quarter net revenue of $90.3 million
First-quarter gross margin of 24.7% and Variable Marketing Margin (VMM) of 29.8%
Completed organizational restructuring and cost reduction plan reducing annualized operating costs by 6%

Digital Media Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: DMS), a leading provider of technology-enabled digital performance advertising solutions connecting consumers and advertisers, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

DMS serves 291 scaled enterprise customers and nearly 6,500 SMBs across the P&C Insurance, Health Insurance, Ecommerce, Career and Education and Consumer Finance verticals with digital performance marketing solutions.

“In the face of an evolving operating landscape, we believe our Q1 2023 results are modestly positive,” said Joe Marinucci, CEO of DMS. “Although in Q2 we are facing some headwinds, particularly in our insurance business, we maintain a positive long-term outlook. A concentrated, in-depth focus on key solutions defines our strategic approach to long-term growth. Our robust and flexible business model is evident in the diversity of our customer base and the broad range of markets we cater to, and we are encouraged by Q1 growth in our Ecommerce and Consumer Finance verticals. Going forward, our focus is to refine our vertical-agnostic, data-driven solutions further, in the US as well as internationally, allowing us to deliver innovative solutions that offer mutual benefit to both consumers and advertisers.”

“Our recent strategic reorganization takes us deeper versus wider, enabling us to excel in competitive markets and concentrate on the key solutions that are poised to drive our long-term growth. The associated reduction in our workforce is resulting in a significant decrease in our operating costs. We remain steadfast in our commitment to managing these expenses, recognizing them as a crucial financial performance lever under our complete control,” Vanessa Guzman-Clark, Interim CFO, added.

First Quarter 2023 Performance:

(All comparisons are relative to the first quarter of 2022)

Net revenue of $90.3 million, down 17.2%
Gross profit margin of 24.7%, a decrease of 4.0 PPTS
Variable Marketing Margin of 29.8%, a decrease of 5.1 PPTS
Operating expenses totaled $32.5 million, a decrease of $2.0 million
Net loss of $20.7 million compared to net income of $5.4 million
Adjusted EBITDA of $3.4 million compared to $10.5 million
EPS of $(0.32) compared to $(0.09); and adjusted EPS of $(0.05) compared to $0.00
Ended the quarter with $20.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, and total debt of $256.6 million

First Quarter 2023 Segment Performance (including intercompany revenue):

(All comparisons are relative to the first quarter of 2022)

Brand Direct Solutions generated revenue of $55.4 million, down 9.5%. Gross margin was 22.7%, up from 20.9%.
Marketplace Solutions generated revenue of $37.3 million, down 36.6%. Gross margin was 21.3%, down from 27.9%.
Technology Solutions generated revenue of $2.3 million, down 0.0%. Gross margin was 74.2%, down from 88.6%.

Second Quarter 2023 Guidance:

DMS is providing updated guidance for the second quarter of 2023, and now anticipates Revenue, Gross Margin, Variable Marketing Margin and Adjusted EBITDA to be in the following ranges:

Second Quarter 2023:

Net Revenue: $90 – $93 million
Gross Margin: 23% – 26%
Variable Marketing Margin: 29% – 34%
Adjusted EBITDA: $3 – $6 million

Adjusted EBITDA and Variable Marketing Margin are non-GAAP financial measures. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Variable Marketing Margin provide useful information to investors and help explain and isolate the core operating performance of the business — refer to the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below. For guidance purposes, the Company is not providing a quantitative reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures in reliance on the “unreasonable efforts” exception for forward-looking non-GAAP measures set forth in SEC rules because certain financial information, the probable significance of which cannot be determined, is not available and cannot be reasonably estimated without unreasonable effort and expense.

Conference Call and Webcast Information:

The U.S. toll-free dial-in for the conference call is 1-833-470-1428, and the international dial-in number is 1-404-975-4839. The access code is 747018. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations page of the company's website at https://investors.digitalmediasolutions.com.

A replay will be available after the conclusion of the call on May 15, 2023, through May 22, 2023. The U.S. toll-free replay dial-in number is 1-866-813-9403, and the international replay dial-in number is 1-929-458-6194. The access code is 519795.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are made in reliance upon such acts and the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1955. DMS’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward statements are often identified by words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, DMS’s expectations with respect to its and ClickDealer’s future performance and its ability to implement its strategy and are based on the beliefs and expectations of our management team from the information available at the time such statements are made. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside DMS’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) DMS’s ability to attain the expected financial benefits from the ClickDealer transaction, (2) any impacts to the ClickDealer business from our acquisition thereof, (3) the COVID-19 pandemic or other public health crises; (4) management of our international expansion as a result of the ClickDealer acquisition; (5) changes in client demand for our services and our ability to adapt to such changes; (6) the entry of new competitors in the market; (7) the ability to maintain and attract consumers and advertisers in the face of changing economic or competitive conditions; (8) the ability to maintain, grow and protect the data DMS obtains from consumers and advertisers, and to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations in newly entered markets; (9) the performance of DMS’s technology infrastructure; (10) the ability to protect DMS’s intellectual property rights; (11) the ability to successfully source, complete and integrate acquisitions; (12) the ability to improve and maintain adequate internal controls over financial and management systems, and remediate material weaknesses therein, including any integration of the ClickDealer business; (13) changes in applicable laws or regulations and the ability to maintain compliance; (14) our substantial levels of indebtedness; (15) volatility in the trading price on the NYSE of our common stock and warrants; (16) fluctuations in value of our private placement warrants; and (17) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in DMS’s filings with the SEC, including those under “Risk Factors” in DMS’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its subsequent filings with the SEC. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown, and it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. DMS cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. DMS cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. DMS does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

About DMS:

Digital Media Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: DMS) is a leading provider of data-driven, technology-enabled digital performance advertising solutions connecting consumers and advertisers within the auto, home, health, and life insurance, plus a long list of top consumer verticals. The DMS first-party data asset, proprietary advertising technology, significant proprietary media distribution, and data-driven processes help digital advertising clients de-risk their advertising spend while scaling their customer bases. Learn more at https://digitalmediasolutions.com.

For the full press release, please visit https://investors.digitalmediasolutions.com/news/default.aspx.