1. Higher market shares and exceeded objectives

As in previous quarters, Hi-Media increased its market share, with business growth far in excess of the estimates for the online advertising market in Europe (+40% in 2005, source: Jupiter Research).

In the end, Hi-Media exceeded its sales figure objectives (set at €23.5 million) and the company posted, for the entire financial year, exceptionally strong growth of 73%. This primarily involved organic growth, since with a constant perimeter, business increased by 59%, as the companies Numériland (on 30 June 2005) and Publicityweb had not been consolidated for the entire year.

Activities in France continue to generate the bulk of the business (65% of the consolidated sales figure), and also the strongest growth (+83%), ahead of the business results in Germany (+67%), Portugal (+65%) and Sweden (+44%).


2. The advertising network and micro-payments continue to drive the growth

The strongest growth was seen in the micro-payments pole that jumped by 132% in 2005, with accelerated volumes in the second half of the year. Two years after its creation, this activity represents 6.5% of the consolidated business and almost 10% of the business in France. Its sales figure could double yet again in 2006.

The bulk of the sales figure is still tied to the advertising network, which represents 84% of the total and which improved by 78% in 2005 (62% with constant perimeter). Many contracts were signed over the course of the year, including those with Canal+, Prisma Press, Nextradio, Expedia in France and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany. The expected growth for 2006 should be high once again, in the area of 40 to 50%.

Direct marketing is the pole that experienced the most modest growth (+15%), a reduced performance that can be explained by the refocusing on high margin operations. Direct marketing now represents less than 10% of the consolidated sales figure. In 2006, this pole is expected to progress much more strongly, however, in view of the implementation of additional services and teams at the start of the year.

3. The prospects for 2006

In 2006, the business distribution by business lines could change considerably if the company brings to fruition the acquisition projects that it has been working on for several months, and which have seen new developments since the start of the year.

Depending on the adopted external growth strategy, the sales forecasts for 2006 - originally pointing to growth in the area of 50%, coming in between 35 and 40 million euros - could be very significantly adjusted upward. The company feels that it should be able to finalize some of these acquisition operations in the short term, and to more precisely give its 2006 prospects before the end of the first quarter.

On 8 March, the company will publish its earnings figures for 2005.