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Ultravision International, a leading innovator, manufacturer and distributor of LED displays and LED lighting, has deepened its Made in America commitment by investing $4 million to open new manufacturing lines in Dallas, a move that will significantly expand its production capacity and triple the company’s North Texas workforce.

Ultravision, the brainchild of long-time Dallas entrepreneur William Hall, holds 39 patents for LED lighting and LED modular display panel technologies, making it an industry leader for LED products.

William Hall, CEO and co-founder of Ultravision International told us “Ultravision fundamentally changed the LED industry by inventing light-weight, modular display panels that eliminate the need for cabinet displays, which are difficult to install and costly to maintain,” said “We are proud to manufacture all of our products in the United States. The incredible demand we’re experiencing across industries tells us buyers recognize the value of buying LED technology from the actual inventor and U.S. manufacturer.”

As outdoor and out-of-home advertising companies look to accelerate the change from static billboards to dynamic LED digital displays, demand for Ultravision products has skyrocketed, resulting in the need to significantly expand its manufacturing capabilities in Dallas.

The company’s new production lines can operate around the clock to keep pace with demand, and will be used to produce Ultravision’s billboard lighting assemblies and the modular LED display panels. However, all lines can be quickly retooled to manufacture the same product in the event a customer makes a large enough order to need full production capacity.

To staff the accelerated manufacturing plant, Ultravision has more than tripled its workforce by adding new production employees, with dozens more sales, marketing, administrative and management personnel expected to join the company in 2018.

DPAA, the leading global organization for everything digital out-of-home, announced today this week that Clear Channel International (CCI) has joined its membership ranks.

Clear Channel International, headquartered in London, operates in 22 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America in a wide variety of formats – including a growing portfolio of over 15,000 digital screens.

Barry Frey, DPAA President & CEO told us “Clear Channel International and its parent company are renowned across the world for their leadership in the out-of-home market. We are very pleased to have CCI as a member of our organization and are excited about working closely with them to advance our mutual interests.”

Stefan Lameire, Chief Customer & Revenue Officer, Clear Channel International, was  quoted as saying “We have admired the work of Barry and the DPAA team for quite some time and are very pleased to be collaborating with them to drive the progress of the DOOH industry, globally.”

Clear Channel International (CCI) is the international business division of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (NYSE: CCO). Alongside the U.S. business, we make up one of the world’s largest out-of-home advertising companies.  Across our diverse portfolio of half a million sites in 22 countries throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America, we boost brands by connecting them with the people they want to reach, with creative, flexible and accountable advertising solutions that put advertisers where they want to be.

oOh!media Limited (ASX:OML) (oOh!media) today announced continued double-digit revenue growth (up 11%) with improved gross margin and underlying earnings for the half-year ended 30 June 2018 (1H18).

Underlying EBITDA increased by 11% to $37.9 million with Underlying NPATA lifting by 2% to $14.9 million.

oOh! continues to benefit from above-market revenue growth in Road with ongoing significant improvements in its Fly and Locate businesses from the second half of last year.

Meanwhile, oOh! leads the industry in driving digital transformation across its portfolio with digital revenue as a percentage of total sales climbing to 64% for the period.

The Company reported a strong first half result and remains on track to deliver its full year guidance for the year ended 31 December 2018 (FY18).

 Financial highlights included:

• Revenue of $192.0m, up 11% from the half year ended 30 June 2017 (1H17)
• Gross profit of $87.6m, up 16% on 1H17
• Gross profit margin of 46% compared to 44% in 1H17
• Operational expenditure increased by 20%, reflecting increased employee expenses associated with technology, creative and sales teams and related commissions to drive revenue growth
• Underlying[1] EBITDA of $37.9m, up 11% with Underlying EBITDA¹ margin steady on the prior corresponding period at 20% despite increased operating expenditure
• Strong cashflow generation – Operating cashflow more than doubled to $29.1m
• Capex of $14.5m – continued disciplined and focused approach to capex, down 19% on 1H17
• Underlying NPATA^{1, [2],[3]} of $14.9m compared to $14.6m in 1H17
• NPAT of $9.2m, up 3% from 1H17
• Fully franked interim dividend of 3.5 cents per share vs 4.5 cents in prior period.  The 1H18 dividend reflects the 71.7m increase in the number of shares issued under the Entitlement Offer in July 2018.  On a like for like basis – dividend per share up 12%

Operational highlights included:

• Out Of Home industry position maintained with 8,000 digital panels across Australia/New Zealand, 12,000 classic panels and 8 online platforms
• Extending its Fly offering beyond Qantas Domestic terminals, clubs and business lounges to also include International and Domestic Inflight Entertainment to help advertisers engage more than 28 million  travelers annually
• Building an Organisational Transformation Platform to enable clients to plan, buy and place campaigns across oOh!’s digital and classic inventory to revolutionise the industry and accelerate the Out Of Home share of total media spend and to deliver an advanced business operating platform
• Delivering ground-breaking campaigns integrating content, data and a combination of offline (Out Of Home and experiential) and online (Junkee Media and social media) platforms

oOh!media’s CEO, Brendon Cook, said: “oOh! has delivered another strong result with solid revenue growth demonstrating the value proposition of our product offering across the most diversified portfolio in the industry.

“That diversity provides exposure to the broadest range of Out Of Home segments and underlying lease contracts enabling us to deliver sustainable revenue growth while also mitigating periodic fluctuations in advertiser spend in specific categories and products.

“We are also successfully driving gross margin improvement in both percentage and absolute dollar terms.

“At the same time, we are implementing our strategy to invest for future growth.  As we have said consistently, this year marks a transformation in our business as we build our platform to the next level.

“We are leading the industry in creating a new media business that is driven by data, content and innovation, connecting advertisers to more audiences with the right message, at the right moment and in the right location.

“We are supporting this with an Organisational Transformation Platform that harnesses the power of machine learning to enable clients to engage with audiences through our extensive network of signs more easily, effectively and efficiently.

“The investments we are making in our people, our systems and our network ensure that oOh! is at the forefront of the Out Of Home sector in creating a unique platform that delivers the next phase of revenue growth and sustainable value creation for shareholders through delivering results to our clients,” Mr. Cook said.

Product highlights:

• Road delivered strong double-digit sales growth (up 16%) through its portfolio of high quality digital and classic assets. While oOh! continues to digitise assets in premium locations, classic metro sites also delivered a strong increase in revenue for the period.

• Retail revenue was impacted (down 5%) by reduced spend across the category from some major advertisers.  The business is confident in the future performance of the Retail business with oOh!’s national presence of full motion Shopalive and Evoke network.

• Fly continued the strong momentum from the last quarter of FY17 with strong bookings leading to an 18% increase in revenue.
• Locate increased revenue significantly (up 31%) from the successful integration of the ECN business and initiatives last year to restructure the sales team and re-position the go-to-market proposition.

• New Zealand posted a strong turnaround in revenue from the prior corresponding period (up 19%) despite the NZ market being nearly flat in the first half.

• Junkee Media and Cactus Imaging revenue continued to grow, demonstrating their value to the group.

Financial Position and Dividend

oOh!media’s balance sheet remains strong with the net debt / Underlying EBITDA ratio at 1.3 times compared to 1.4 times at 31 December 2017 and 1.7 times at 30 June 2017.  This level of gearing is well within the Company’s banking covenants and has temporarily been reduced to nil from July 2018 because of the entitlement issue proceeds being received in advance of the Adshel acquisition completing.

Meanwhile, oOh!media continues to generate strong cash flow with operating cash flow more than doubling on the prior half to $29.1 million.

Capital expenditure declined by 19% to $14.5 million, reflecting the Company’s ongoing disciplined approach to capital investment and digitisation.

The Board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 3.5 cents per share compared to 4.5 cents for the prior corresponding period.  The Record date for entitlement to receive the interim dividend is 24 August 2018 with a schedule dividend payment date of 21 September 2018.    The 1H18 dividend reflects the 71.7 million increase in the number of shares on issue post the entitlement offer concluded in July 2018.  On a like for like basis, dividend per share increased by 12% on the prior corresponding half.

Outlook – Guidance Reaffirmed for FY18

oOh!media remains confident of continued growth in the Out Of Home sector for 2018.

The Board of Directors reaffirms guidance for CY18 Underlying EBITDA of $94m-$99m and for capital expenditure between $30-$40m.  Guidance excludes the impact of the proposed acquisition of Adshel, including costs incurred to date.

Update on Proposed Adshel Acquisition

On 25 June 2018, oOh!media announced it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital in Adshel from HT&E Limited for cash consideration of $570 million.   The Acquisition purchase price has been funded with a combination of new debt and an equity capital raising.

The Company has arranged fully underwritten new debt facilities in connection with the Acquisition, with a total facility limit of $450 million.

The Company successfully completed a fully underwritten 1 for 2.3 pro rata accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer which raised $329.9 million.

Adshel is complementary to oOh!media’s existing portfolio providing an opportunity to enter the new segments of street furniture and rail. The digitisation opportunity in the Adshel business is also expected to provide a significant avenue for further growth beyond what has been achieved to date.

Completion of the Acquisition is expected in 2018 and is subject to ACCC approval.

DPAA, the leading global organization for everything digital out-of-home, announced today that engineering, street furniture and Smart City giant, Trueform has joined its membership ranks.

Jonathan Morley, CEO, Trueform, told us “We are excited about having this opportunity to become active, involved members of DPAA, and derive the many benefits that come with it.”

Trueform is a leading designer and manufacturer of digital advertising displays, electronic public information displays and interactive information kiosks for both outdoor and indoor applications. With over 40 years of experience, Trueform has more than 150,000 products, including digital out-of-home displays, installed worldwide.

Barry Frey, DPAA President & CEO, said “Trueform is an innovative company with a broad network of indoor and outdoor screens. We look forward to sharing best practices with them and to helping them continue to grow their business.”

DPAA is a global, digital out-of-home marketing association that has created a strong community environment in which members drive and promote their digital capabilities. To deliver on their promise of “Digital Out of Home Everything,” DPAA functions as a business accelerator and consultant for members. Membership in the DPAA community brings many benefits, including admission to quarterly “mini summit” meetings with ad industry and DOOH leaders; access to curated VIP tours and meetings at CES and Cannes Lions; an extensive database of research, best practices and case studies; tools for planning, training and forecasting; social media amplification; publication discounts; an opportunity to participate in media partnerships; insights on software and hardware solutions; further integration into the advertising ecosystem as part of the video everywhere conversation and marketing campaign; and more.

AV Jobs provide a highly specialist Recruitment Service for Audio Visual manufacturers, distributors and resellers.

They also work within the broadcast, events and unified communications industries providing quality and experienced staff at all levels – from board members through management, field service and sales, as well as on-site technical and sales people.

Their Consultants have experience within the AV industry and fully understand all areas from sales through system design and installation, hire and events, operations and service.

Here are this week’s selection of #AVjobs from them…

• SALES DIRECTOR – DIGITAL SIGNAGE SOLUTIONS
  Job Type Permanent Full Time
  Location London & Home Counties
  Area Berkshire, England Bucks, England Middlesex, England Surrey, England City of London, England London South West, England
  Sector SalesSales – Audio Visual Director Director – Sales
  Salary £60000 – £80000 Per Annum Competitive & negotiable salary + bonus
  Currency GBP
  Start Date ASAP
  Advertiser AV Jobs
  Job Ref AV29830
• BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIGITAL SIGNAGE
  Job Type Permanent Full Time
  Location London & Home Counties
  Area Middlesex, England Surrey, England City of London, England London South East, England London South West, England
  Sector Sales Sales – Audio Visual Sales – Corporate Sales – Business DevelopmentS ales – Field Sales
  Salary £35000 – £60000 Per Annum £35k basic £60k OTE + car allowance
  Currency GBP
  Start Date ASAP
  Advertiser AV Jobs
  Job Ref AV29829
• AV CHANNEL SALES – VENDOR
  Job Type Permanent Full Time
  Location London & Home Counties
  Area Berkshire, England Bucks, England Middlesex, England Surrey, England City of London, England Hertfordshire, UK
  Sector Sales Sales – Audio Visual Sales – Channel – vendor Sales – External Account Manager Sales – Business Development Sales – Field Sales
  Salary £45000 – £55000 Per Annum Competitive & negotiable salary + bonus
  Currency GBP
  Start Date ASAP
  Advertiser AV Jobs
  Job Ref AV29828

Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE: CCO), an indirect subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc., has tapped international media sales and marketing veteran Jim Campbell to lead its New York market operations.

As the new Clear Channel Outdoor New York President, we are told that he will hyper-focus on customer centric initiatives that drive revenue growth opportunities for the company and its valued local, regional and national clients.

He told us “I look forward to working with the team at Clear Channel Outdoor to further enhance our presence in the New York area. Engaging with clients and helping them reach consumers with printed and digital out-of-home advertising is an opportunity to convey the dynamic capabilities Clear Channel Outdoor is bringing to bear in the industry. Integrating our media with the goals of our clients to achieve measurable results is one of our greatest strengths.”

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NEC Display Solutions has recently welcomed three new members to its UK sales team.

• With 17 years’ experience working across a number of AV integrators, Jack Wilders joins NEC to manage integrator and reseller accounts, ably providing support and technical knowledge to offer the best value and perfect fit proposition for end users. Jack brings knowledge of IPTV, digital signage, video walls and specialist display projects across the corporate space and in several vertical markets including education, NHS and leisure, especially large stadium rollouts.
• Louise Hirst joins NEC to manage end user accounts with specific focus on media, manufacturing and engineering. The company’s vertical sales strategy enables NEC to meet the specific needs of its customers within specialist application areas and Louise’s appointment harnesses her experience within these important sectors.
• Joining NEC as Corporate Reseller Account Manager, Helen Flynn’s 20 year experience working within the IT reseller industry and 13 years with Computacenter in the AV sector sustains NEC’s solid partnerships within the corporate reseller channel, a vital link to ensure NEC continues to provide superior service to its end user customers.

Ian Gobey, General Manager, NEC UK Display Solutions told us “Our people are at the centre of our offering and the success of our channel business is firmly rooted in the professional integrity of our sales teams. Jack, Louise and Helen bring a wealth of experience and have already established themselves as key players in fulfilling our forward looking sales strategy”.

Former US Weekly marketing lead, Heawon Yoo has joined Adspace.

Ms. Yoo is an integrated marketing specialist with over 20 years of experience. Her career began on the agency side, spending 10 years at major NYC agencies including BBDO and Deutsch before moving to the publisher side at brands like Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal and Us Weekly. After initially working across titles, she became solely dedicated to US Weekly in 2009 – most recently serving as the Head of Integrated Marketing where she focussed on driving digital ad growth. Leveraging custom video content, she created Red Carpet Daily, Us Weekly’s first daily video show.

Ms. Yoo will report to newly appointed CEO, Greg Glenday, who joined Adspace in May and will oversee brand marketing, integrated marketing, research, and the creative & content teams. Her appointment comes at a crucial time as Out of Home advertising is rapidly evolving though technological advancements and an industry trend toward quality digital inventory.

With over 4,500+ screens throughout 300+ locations, Adspace’s premium video network reaches 80 million unique consumers every four weeks, offering 100% viewable, brand-safe and fraud-free impressions to in-market consumers steps from the point of sale and on the path to purchase. Adspace effectively engages today’s connected consumers through hyper-targeted messaging, one-to-one mobile engagements and social integrations.

Peerless-AV has added Kate Butcher to its UK professional sales team to focus on the south of the country.

Kate Butcher, who has held roles at distributors exertis medium and Sahara will join as key account manager, southern region.

Keith Dutch, managing director – EMEA, Peerless-AV, told us “Kate’s energy and enthusiasm, combined with her AV distribution experience and good industry connections, make her perfect for the key account manager position. We value relationships above all at Peerless-AV and our team is renowned in the industry for being great ambassadors for the company. Kate has the qualities to help us develop this further and drive business growth in key accounts.”

A more pictorial look at this year’s featured CEOs’ networks will be available in print in DOOH INSIGHTS: Volume 7 and will be available in September and October in two versions, one for London and one for New York!

We kicked off 2018 undertaking interviews with Karine Moses, President, Astral at Bell Media and Vice-President, Bell Media Sales Québec (TV/Radio), Montreal, Mike Tyquin, CEO, Adshel , Sydney, Candice Simons of Brooklyn Outdoor, Jeroen Hillenaar of Hillenaar Outdoor and Ben Walker, Shopper Media Group, Australia.

To end the year we have a VERY special CEO Spotlight where we welcome back François de Gaspé Beaubien, Chairman and Chief Coaching Officer of ZOOM Media, Executive Chairman of Ayuda Media Systems, Executive Chairman of Hivestack (majority owner of all three) and Chairman of the Digital Placed based Advertising Association – we first interviewed François back in July 2008, Ed.

In 2017, we interviewed Clear Channel Outdoor’s Scott Wells in February, Grandi Stazioni’s Stefano Mereu in March, PRN’s Kevin Carbone in April, Core Out of Home’s Umut Senol (formerly Clear Channel Turkey) in May, Val Morgan Outdoor’s Anthony Deeble in June, Elonex Outdoor’s Nick Smith in July, Go2Digital’s Edin Pasalic in August, Adams Outdoor Advertising’s Kevin Gleason in September, Westfield’s Charley Delana in November and lastly Vasco Perestrelo from Multimedia Outdoors Portugal.

All earlier CEO Spotlights (and we have 10 years’ worth now) are available online (click here), as well as in print in the following series of books: –

• DOOH INSIGHTS: 2008 To 2012
• DOOH INSIGHTS: The Best of 2013
• DOOH INSIGHTS: The Best of 2014
• DOOH INSIGHTS: Volume 4
• DOOH INSIGHTS: Volume 5
• DOOH INSIGHTS: Volume 6