Dubbing and subtitling specialist Zoo Digital has returned to profit, with bosses saying it is benefiting from increased demand. The Sheffield-based media services firm, which offers 'localisation' products to content publishers, has issued interim results for the six months to the end of September.
Revenue up and losses turned around
Revenue was up 5.5% to $23.6m (£17.5m), and a half year operating loss of $1.2m (£892,000) last year was converted to operating profit of $1.5m (£1.1m) in the current year. Investors were told the results represented a more efficient business, which has undergone restructuring.
Zoo said its localisation work had increased by 46%, with high volumes driven by older catalogue content being licensed in new countries. Tender activity over the half year was said to be at the highest levels since before the Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes in 2023.
New formats and platform demand
Streaming platforms' requirements for faster delivery in more languages is helping the digital technology firm, which also said it had diversified its customer base while continuing to work with all major studios. Zoo has clients such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix and Paramount Skydance on its books.
It said "microdramas" have become one of the fastest growing formats globally, with some including hundreds of episodes that require fast turnaround of dubbing and subtitling. Video podcasts are also increasingly being distributed in multiple languages, with the huge volume of these productions expected to fuel growth.
Elsewhere, streaming platforms were said to be commissioning more unscripted programmes and gameshows - of the type associated with traditional linear television. Those platforms are also moving into sports shows which require live captioning and high quality subtitling.
CEO on growth strategy
Stuart Green, CEO of Zoo, said: "Zoo has returned to growth with improved profitability and cash generation. We are benefitting from increased demand for faster delivery in more languages as well as new content formats that are expanding the media localisation market.
"As a technology disruptor in the sector, we are setting new standards for quality delivery at significantly faster speeds than those offered by traditional vendors. Our proprietary software, which embeds AI across workflows, allows customers to balance speed and cost, while maintaining control through the input of our specialist teams around the world.
"This is delivering results. We have rightsized the business, developed our offering, added new customer engagements and expanded several key accounts. We are confident that Zoo now has the right structure and customer proposition to grow our share of a structural growth market for media localisation. We have a rightsized platform to grow the business profitably."
