Tremor Video’s Q3 revenue was down 1% YoY in Q3 to $41.3 million, a slight improvement over last quarter, when the company’s revenue tumbled 12% YoY. The company is break even in terms of cash flow.
When asked about the revenue decreases last quarter, CEO Bill Day told AdExchanger: “We’ve said this since we went public – and we think this applies to other ad tech companies, as well – that we operate, by design, in a pretty volatile space,” and that Tremor’s business has shifted significantly as technology changes and programmatic ramps up.
Last quarter, that volatility happened when agency trading desks decreased spend on Tremor’s managed DSP business.
In Q3, Tremor said it addressed that softening in its buyer platform, including its non-programmatic media network, “by putting MSAs (master service agreements) into place.” Day added these agreements inherently take time before meaningful dollars flow.
“We have self-serve capabilities with at least four big holding companies, which will allow us to be successful in more of a continuous manner going forward,” Day said, adding that Tremor’s newer SSP business is now larger than its DSP business as a percentage of spend.
He did not break out specifics, but Tremor added a number of new publisher wins in the quarter, including LeEco, E.W. Scripps and Mail Online.
Overall, gross profits were up 6% and total spend through its platform was up 29% YoY to $63.5 million.
Since it launched a demand and supply-side platform in 2014, Tremor has pushed toward building a programmatic business from its legacy ad network business. Tremor claims 91% of the company’s spend now comes from programmatic and high-impact (cross-screen) units, versus 9% from its media network. Over time, Day expects that number to decrease further.
Although 40% of advertiser spend came from mobile in Q3, Day expects buyer platforms to unlock even more cross-screen demand once mobile measurability improves.
“Buyers on self-service have been slower to move to mobile because more measurement limitations exist than in desktop,” Day said. “I think everyone knows intuitively mobile is a place that should be getting more spend, and once clients can complete closed-loop analysis … it’s an area where you’ll see more spend ramp up.”
In terms of inventory access, analysts wondered about the status of Tremor’s integration to social platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, given the rate of mobile video consumption that happens there.
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Day said Facebook has been the most “open” with access to APIs so far, but that Tremor will be prioritizing social video in the months to come.
Correction: An earlier version of this story noted advertiser spend on Tremor’s platform was up 29% YoY. Total aggregate spend from all sources (including trading desks, etc.) was up 29%.
Tremor also broke even on cash flow. An earlier version of the story stated Tremor was $3 million cash positive, based on a company figure provided to AdExchanger. The story was updated to reflect that change.
