Tag: Megan Clarken

Piramal Capital &Housing Finance Ltd. raises INR 4,050 Crores via issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs)
Business World, News

Criteo Reports Strong First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

May 7, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Chief Executive Officer of Criteo, #Megan Clarken

New Delhi – Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), the global technology company powering the world’s marketers with trusted and impactful advertising, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 that exceeded the Company’s quarterly guidance.

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

The following table summarizes our consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020:

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

The following table summarizes our consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020:

Three Months Ended March 31,


2021                                2020                             YoY

(in millions, except EPS data)

 

GAAP Results
Revenue $                       541 $                       503 7 %
Net Income $                         23 $                         16 43 %
Diluted EPS $                      0.35 $                      0.25 40 %
Cash from operating activities $                         77 $                         57 36 %
Net cash position $                       520 $                       437 19 %
 

Non-GAAP Results1

Revenue ex-TAC

  

 

$                       213

  

 

$                       206

  

 

4 %
Revenue ex-TAC margin 39 % 41 % (2)%
Adjusted EBITDA $                         76 $                         59 28 %
Adjusted diluted EPS $                      0.67 $                      0.52 29 %
Free Cash Flow (FCF) $                         64 $                         45 41 %
FCF / Adjusted EBITDA 84 % 76 % 8 %

Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer of Criteo, said, “Our commitments to deliver measurable results for our customers, our growth investments and our consistent focus on execution and productivity enabled us to deliver strong top line and margin.”

Q1 2021 Operating Highlights

• New solutions grew 60% year-over-year at constant currency2 to 21% of total Revenue ex-TAC.

• Retail Media revenue grew 69% year-over-year at constant currency2 and Retail Media Revenue ex-TAC grew 122% at constant currency2. Same-client revenue3 for Retail Media grew 61% and same-client Revenue ex-TAC3 for Retail Media increased 89% year-over-year.

• Criteo launched its contextual advertising solution, a first-of-its-kind product that connects first-party commerce data with real-time contextual signals, paving the way for marketers to continue to drive and measure incremental revenue in a post-cookie world.

• Same-client revenue3 increased 8% year-over-year, accelerating vs. Q4 2020, and same-client Revenue ex-TAC3 increased 3% year-over-year at constant currency2.

• We added over 120 net new live clients in Q1 2021 and closed the quarter with 20,626 clients4.

Financial Summary

Revenue for Q1 2021 was $541 million and Revenue ex-TAC was $213 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $76 million, resulting in an adjusted diluted EPS of $0.67. At constant currency, Q1 2021 Revenue increased by 4% and Revenue ex-TAC increased by 0.5%. Excluding the estimated $18 million incremental impact of the pandemic, we estimate that Revenue ex-TAC increased about 9% in Q1 2021. Free Cash Flow was $64 million in Q1 2021, up 41% year-over-year. Free Cash Flow conversion was 84% of Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2021, representing the highest quarterly level for the past 21 quarters. We had $566 million in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet at the end of Q1 2021.

Sarah Glickman, Chief Financial Officer, said, “We are on track to achieve about 50% growth from our new solutions in 2021, and excited to deliver value to newly signed customers in Retail Media and for our newly launched Contextual advertising product.”

Revenue and Revenue ex-TAC

Revenue increased by 7% year-over-year in Q1 2021, or 4% at constant currency, to $541 million (Q1 2020:

$503 million). Revenue ex-TAC in the quarter increased 4% year-over-year, or 0.5% at constant currency, to

$213 million (Q1 2020: $206 million), after an approximately $18 million net negative impact from the COVID-19 disruption incremental to 2020, or approximately 9 points of year-over-over growth at constant currency. Good performance of retargeting, driven by our retail clients, stellar performance of Retail Media and continued growth of our Audience Targeting and Omnichannel solutions offset Q1 2021 COVID-19 pandemic impact, in particular on our travel clients. Revenue ex-TAC as a percentage of revenue, or Revenue ex-TAC margin, was 39% (Q1 2020: 41%).

• In the Americas, Revenue increased 6% year-over-year, or 8% at constant currency, to $204 million and represented 38% of total Revenue. Revenue ex-TAC increased 6% year-over-year, or 8% at constant currency, to $76 million and represented 36% of total Revenue ex-TAC.

• In EMEA, Revenue increased 12% year-over-year, or 4% at constant currency, to $212 million and represented 39% of total Revenue. Revenue ex-TAC increased 5% year-over-year, or decreased 2% at constant currency, to $85 million and represented 40% of total Revenue ex-TAC.

• In Asia-Pacific, Revenue increased 3% year-over-year, or declined 1% at constant currency, to

$125 million and represented 23% of total Revenue. Revenue ex-TAC declined 2% year-over-year, or 5% at constant currency, to $52 million and represented 24% of total Revenue ex-TAC.

Net Income and Adjusted Net Income

Net income increased 43% year-over-year in Q1 2021 to $23 million (Q1 2020: $16 million). Net income margin as a percentage of revenue was 4% (Q1 2020: 3%). In the quarter, we incurred $12 million in restructuring related and transformation costs. Net income available to shareholders of Criteo S.A. increased 45% year-over- year to $22 million, or $0.35 per share on a diluted basis (Q1 2020: $15 million, or $0.25 per share on a diluted basis).

Adjusted Net Income, or net income adjusted to eliminate the impact of equity awards compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, restructuring related and transformation costs and the tax impact of these adjustments, increased 35% year-over-year to $43 million, or $0.67 per share on a diluted basis (Q1 2020: $32 million, or $0.52 per share on a diluted basis).

Adjusted EBITDA and Operating Expenses

Adjusted EBITDA increased 28% year-over-year, or 21% at constant currency, to $76 million (Q1 2020:

$59 million), driven by the Revenue ex-TAC performance over the period and effective cost discipline balanced with investments in our growth areas. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Revenue ex-TAC, or Adjusted EBITDA margin, was 36% (Q1 2020: 29%).

Operating expenses decreased by 3% or $4 million, to $144 million (Q1 2020: $148 million), mostly driven by lower headcount-related expense and disciplined expense management across the Company. Operating expenses, excluding the impact of equity awards compensation expense, pension costs, restructuring related and transformation costs, and depreciation and amortization, which we refer to as Non-GAAP Operating Expenses, decreased 6% or $8 million, to $118 million (Q1 2020: $126 million), largely driven by lower headcount and effective cost discipline, after investing in the growth areas of the Company.

Cash Flow, Cash and Financial Liquidity Position

Cash flow from operating activities increased 36% year-over-year to $77 million (Q1 2020: $57 million).

Free Cash Flow, defined as cash flow from operating activities less acquisition of intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and change in accounts payable related to intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, increased 41% to $64 million (Q1 2020: $45 million), or 84% of Adjusted EBITDA (Q1 2020: 76%), driven by our Adjusted EBITDA performance over the period and positive working capital.

Cash and cash equivalents increased $32 million compared to December 31, 2020 to $520 million, after spending $5 million on share repurchases in the first quarter 2021.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had total financial liquidity of approximately $1 billion, including its cash position, marketable securities, Revolving Credit Facility and treasury shares reserved for M&A.

Business Outlook

The following forward-looking statements reflect Criteo’s expectations as of May 5, 2021. Second quarter 2021 guidance:

• We expect Revenue ex-TAC to be approximately $208 million, translating into constant-currency growth of

about 14% year-over-year.

• We expect Adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $60 million.

Fiscal year 2021 guidance:

• We maintain our target of low to mid-single digit growth in Revenue ex-TAC at constant-currency.

• We maintain our expectation of an Adjusted EBITDA margin above 30% of Revenue ex-TAC.

The above guidance for the second quarter and the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 assumes the following exchange rates for the main currencies impacting our business: a U.S. dollar-euro rate of 0.847, a

U.S. dollar-Japanese Yen rate of 108, a U.S. dollar-British pound rate of 0.746, a U.S. dollar-Korean Won rate of 1,150 and a U.S. dollar-Brazilian real rate of 5.70.

The above guidance assumes no acquisitions are completed during the second quarter ending June 30, 2021 and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Reconciliation of Revenue ex-TAC and Adjusted EBITDA guidance to the closest corresponding U.S. GAAP measure is not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis due to the high variability, complexity and low visibility with respect to the charges excluded from these non-GAAP measures; in particular, the measures and effects of equity awards compensation expense specific to equity compensation awards that are directly impacted by unpredictable fluctuations in our share price. The variability of the above charges could potentially have a significant impact on our future U.S. GAAP financial results.

Investor Day 2021

Criteo will hold a virtual investor day on Thursday, June 3rd, 2021. More details will be provided ahead of the event, which will be webcast live, on the Company’s Investor Relations website http://ir.criteo.com.

Criteo Names Media and Agency Veteran Brendan McCarthy as Chief Marketing Officer
News

Criteo Names Media and Agency Veteran Brendan McCarthy as Chief Marketing Officer

Dec 15, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Brendan McCarthy, #Chief Executive Officer, #Chief Marketing Officer, #Criteo, #Megan Clarken

New Delhi: Criteo, the global technology company powering the world’s marketers with trusted and impactful advertising announced Brendan McCarthy as Chief Marketing Officer. McCarthy will lead the marketing and communications teams across Criteo’s global markets and will be an integral part of Criteo’s transformation and innovation strategy to a Commerce Media Platform.

McCarthy comes to Criteo with nearly 20 years of strategic marketing and communications experience, having led several successful corporate reputation and brand strategy assignments for Fortune 500 companies. In his most recent role as Senior Vice President and Head of Communications and Product Marketing for Nielsen Global Media, he was responsible for all aspects of the division’s global marketing and communications organization including public relations, growth marketing, product positioning, client and internal communications, thought leadership, and reputation and crisis management. Previously, at public relations agency, Edelman, McCarthy led global media relations efforts, as well as executed crisis and influencer management activations for large corporate and technology clients.

“I’m inspired by Criteo’s growth mindset and looking forward to the opportunity to position communications around the company’s new vision and strategy,” said McCarthy. “Criteo has an exciting future and the talented team I’ve joined has an incredibly compelling story – all underlining the value of Criteo’s transformative technology.”

“Brendan strengthens Criteo’s marketing and communications strategy, bringing a diverse and global portfolio of experience spanning measurement, consumer behavior and marketing solutions that keep technology companies like Criteo primed for success,” said Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer at Criteo. “We’re looking forward to Brendan’s contributions as we continue building our transformation narrative.”

McCarthy holds a master’s degree in global affairs from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. He will be based in New York and will report to Clarken.

shake hand
Business World

Criteo Joins Open Source Unified ID Initiative

Nov 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Criteo, #Jeff Green, #Megan Clarken, #Open Source Unified ID

Criteo, the global technology company powering the world’s marketers with trusted and impactful advertising, today announced that it is collaborating with an advertising technology leader, The Trade Desk, on the Unified ID 2.0 initiative. Criteo will provide the sign-on solution and codevelop the transparency portal in Unified ID 2.0. The transparency portal will enable consumers to have unprecedented control over their advertising experience. Both companies will start testing this concept with publishers and other industry partners this November and December.

With this announcement, two of the largest demand-side advertising platforms are working together to help drive the future of consumer identity and privacy on the open internet.

Unified ID 2.0 is a new approach to identity that represents an upgrade to third-party cookies, preserves the value exchange of advertising on the open internet while providing improved consumer controls. The structure of Unified ID 2.0 was outlined as part of IAB Tech Lab’s Project Rearc, with The Trade Desk developing initial product code. Unified ID 2.0 will be open-source, interoperable, non-commercial and administered by an independent organization.

Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer of Criteo said: “Our goal has always been to create a safe and viable open internet ecosystem for consumers, publishers and advertisers. We are excited to collaborate with The Trade Desk and work in lockstep with other industry partners to build a multi-faceted, united solution for scaled adoption that’s truly people-first.”

With this move, Criteo will be incorporating key elements of its User-Centric Ad ID solution to Unified ID 2.0. During Criteo’s Q2 financial earnings call, the company announced it was working on a “revocable identification system,” now called a User-Centric Ad ID. The UserCentric Ad ID includes a portal in which consumers could access their privacy profile and update their ad targeting preferences across web browsers and apps.

“This year, it has become clear that the advertising technology industry needs to come together to develop a better alternative to third-party cookies – one that’s more secure, one that better explains the value exchange of the internet to consumers, and one that improves consumer controls,” said Jeff Green, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Trade Desk. “This collaboration with Criteo is a major step forward in this industrywide approach, bringing two of the largest demand-side players together, even as we compete in our everyday business. This partnership represents undeniable momentum as the industry collaborates on an upgrade to replace the third-party cookie.”

criteo
Business World

Criteo Launches its Latest Green Energy-Based Data Center in Japan

Oct 21, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), #data center in Tokyo (Koto-ku), #Diarmuid Gill, #Green Energy-Based Data Center, #Megan Clarken

Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), the global technology company powering the world’s marketers with trusted and impactful advertising, today announced its newest data center in Tokyo (Koto-ku). Criteo’s newest data center aims at enhancing ads delivery and performance for its clients and partners in North Asia including Japan and Korea, showing its commitment to better serve the region. In the past 10 years, Criteo has expanded its global server pool from 150 to over 45,000 to meet the ad industry’s growing needs.

 “We’re thrilled to launch our eighth global data center and third one in Japan, which is our largest market outside the US,” said Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer at Criteo. “Japan has been a key market in APAC for Criteo. Its ad industry has been experiencing positive growth for the eighth consecutive year as seen in Dentsu’s report on Advertising Expenditures in Japan[1], where total ad spend in Japan was 6.9381 trillion JPY (approx. USD 65.7 billion) in 2019. 

Rapid increases have been noted for transactions of programmatic ads and Real-Time Bidding (RTB). We continue to diversify our solutions and invest in upgrading our infrastructure and R&D to provide better service and performance to our clients. As a green-energy based data center, it demonstrates our commitment to being a socially responsible company, caring for our environment and society.”

 This is Criteo’s third data center in Japan following the first launched in March 2011 and soon the second in 2012 as a result of business fast growth. After migration, it will be Criteo’s largest data center in Asia Pacific (APAC), with the other in Hong Kong focusing on helping South APAC clients. The new data center in Japan will enable advertisers to secure premium ad spaces immediately with more efficient and faster access to publishers’ ad inventories. 

 The data center was built to allow for high performance with the latest technologies while being sustainable, running on less power and less CO2 emission. Currently, 84% of consumption energy from Criteo’s data centers are compensated by renewable energy production sources through REC (Renewable Energy Certificates). This is a 9% increase compared to 2018 at 75%.  Criteo has set a goal of using renewable energy to run its data center at 100% capacity in the near future.

 The New Data Center Features

This new data center footprint was built on-premise and runs at its core a 400G IP fabric. All servers will be connected using 25Gbps interfaces, allowing faster data access with shorter computing time. The new servers boast 2 – 3x faster and better performance, with one server operating on the equivalent of up to four older servers while offering an optimized QPS per watt ratio. This allows for cost savings due to the need to purchase fewer servers. The new data center uses the latest technology with an improved density per rack and has 400m2 of server space.

 “Criteo is conscious of its environmental footprint and our IT infrastructure team has always had this in mind as we look at improving our data centers,” said Diarmuid Gill, Criteo Chief Technology Officer. “By using leading technology combined with sustainable practices, our powerful data centers around the world can support up to 2.8 trillion bid requests per week, evaluate over 64 million campaigns per second and accumulate 700 TB data per day.”

 Currently, Criteo operates 8 data centers globally and owns up to 45,000 servers in North America, Europe and APAC. The platform utilizes data analysis in the fields of digital performance advertisement. As a global technology company, Criteo continues to show a commitment to provide reliable and effective ad solutions to marketers all over the world.