Mr. Tal Hayek reports

ILLUMIN REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2023 FINANCIAL RESULTS

illumin Holdings Inc. has released its financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023. All monetary figures are expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Third quarter 2023 highlights:

• Third quarter 2023 revenue was $29.6-million up 2.4 per cent year-over-year, reflecting growth in the company's self-serve business.
• illumin self-serve revenue was up 348 per cent to $5.1-million, compared with $1.2-million in the year-ago period and represented 17 per cent of total revenue, up from 16 per cent in Q2 2023. Self-serve growth was driven by an increase in new customers and platform utilization.
• The company onboarded 33 net new self-serve clients during the quarter, reflecting sales initiatives targeting higher-spend clients and positioning the company for continued illumin self-serve revenue growth in Q4 2023.
• Third quarter 2023 gross margin was 47 per cent, compared with 51 per cent for the same period in 2022, reflecting changes in both geographic mix and an increasing proportion of self-service revenue.
• Net revenue or gross profit (revenue less media costs) for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2023, was $13.9-million, compared with $14.8-million in the same quarter in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $200,000 for the third quarter, compared with $1.6-million in the prior-year period, primarily due to continuing strategic investments in research and development, sales, and marketing to support illumin's growth as well as lower-margin revenue outside of North America.
• Q3 2023 net income was $800,000, compared with net income of $3.2-million in Q3 2022. The decrease was primarily a result of lower adjusted EBITDA and foreign exchange impact due to a weakened U.S. dollar compared with the prior-year period.
• At Sept. 30, 2023, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $60-million, compared with $86-million as of Dec. 31, 2022. This decrease was attributable to positive cash flow from operations ($1.3-million), which was more than offset by a combination of share repurchases ($14.6-million), net loan repayments ($4.4-million), lease payments ($2.4-million) and strategic investments in the business ($5.5-million).
• At the conclusion of the previously announced substantial issuer bid (SIB) on Aug. 31, 2023, the company repurchased 4.6 million of its outstanding common shares at a purchase price of $2.65 per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $12.2-million.
• On Sept. 11, the company voluntarily delisted and ceased trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. illumin's shares continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ILLM.
• On Oct. 26, the company announced the planned transition of its chief executive officer, Tal Hayek. Once a new CEO is appointed, Mr. Hayek will transition from his current CEO role to that of non-executive vice-chairman on the board of directors of illumin.

Mr. Hayek, co-founder and chief executive officer of illumin, stated: "During the third quarter, we generated substantial year-over-year growth in illumin self-serve revenue. We also continued to enhance the illumin brand by establishing a fully integrated connection with Meta to provide new Facebook and Instagram capabilities, allowing end-to-end social advertising, and thereby providing marketers with additional connected journey advertising intelligence."

Mr. Hayek added: "We are encouraged by the year-over-year growth generated by our illumin self-serve offering and together with very positive and ongoing customer feedback, we will look to refine our sales efforts and identify additional strategic opportunities within the marketplace for this offering. We have also bolstered our efforts aimed at signing long-term self-serve contracts, including guaranteed revenue minimums with terms greater than one year.

"Finally, regarding my intention to transition my role as a co-founder of illumin -- I'm extremely proud of what we have accomplished together with this incredibly talented team. We have brought a revolutionary illumin journey advertising platform to life. I am committed to working closely with the board and my eventual successor for a smooth transition and to ensure we take the company to the next level," concluded Mr. Hayek.

Elliot Muchnik, illumin's chief financial officer, commented: "In addition to sales growth, we achieved positive adjusted EBITDA in the quarter despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. Moreover, our planned normal course issuer bid (NCIB), following the completion of our SIB, shows our unwavering belief in illumin's potential.

"In addition, the company generated positive cash from operations of $1.3-million for the nine months ended, an improvement of $2.5-million from the prior year. This further bolsters our exceptionally strong balance sheet and allows us to continue investing in illumin's future and to build upon our market-leading status."

Conference call details

Date: Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023

Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time

To register for the conference call webcast and presentation, please visit illumin's website.

Please connect 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be needed to hear the webcast.

A recording of the conference call webcast will be available after the call by visiting the company's website.

About illumin Holdings Inc.

illumin is a journey advertising platform that enables marketers to reach consumers at every stage of their journey by leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms and real-time data analytics. The company's mission is to illuminate the path for brands to connect with their customers through the power of data-driven advertising. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, illumin serves clients across North America, Latin America and Europe.

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