Premium Domain Name Sale and Trading Update

CentralNic Group plc

("CentralNic" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Premium Domain Name Sale and Pre Close Trading Update

CentralNic plc, (AIM:CNIC), the internet platform business which derives revenues from the global sale of domain names, is pleased to announce that it has entered into its largest ever premium domain name sale agreement under which it will receive consideration of US$ 4.5 million.  

Premium Domain Name Sale

Under the premium domain sale agreement entered into on 13 December 2016, CentralNic will receive US$ 4.5 million consideration in cash, the proceeds of which will be utilised to further accelerate growth within the Group.  After accounting for associated costs and using an illustrative US$/STG exchange rate, the contribution to 2016 Adjusted EBITDA¹ is expected to be approximately £2.8 million. 

Pre Close Trading Update

The CentralNic Board confirmed that, as a result of this sale, the Company expects to finish the year with earnings in line with market expectations and substantially ahead of the same period last year. 

During 2016 CentralNic's wholesale division retained its position as the global leader by volume, accounting for almost one in three of all new Top-Level Domain name registrations.  There are  excellent prospects for future growth moving into 2017, resulting from a much larger base of domain names due to renew combined with the accreditation of the .xyz TLD by China's Ministry for Industry and Information Technology.  

CentralNic's retail division became the Group's highest revenue generator in 2016, augmented by the acquisition of the Instra Group in January 2016.  Retail division earnings are expected to be in line with expectations in 2016, while the Group continues to focus on developing services to stimulate future growth.

CentralNic's enterprise division has achieved record results in premium domain name trading.  Progress was also made in developing software licensing and managed service revenues, although new corporate customer acquisition is taking longer than anticipated. 

CentralNic CEO Ben Crawford said: "2016 has been a transformational year for CentralNic, adding significant scale to the Group with revenues expected to grow by over 110% and Adjusted EBITDA by over 65%.

"The Group is now well positioned to continue to grow its recurring earnings businesses, notably wholesale and retail, while seeking to become an established supplier to the enterprise domain name market.  We look forward to continue executing our growth strategy in 2017." 

-Ends-

¹ Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, non-trading items and non-cash charges

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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Notes to Editors

CentralNic (LSE: CNIC) is a London-based AIM-listed company. It earns revenues from the worldwide sales of internet domain names using its proprietary technology platform. It sells these domain names on an annual subscription basis. Customers pay for domain names upfront, making CentralNic a cash-generative business with annuity revenue streams.

CentralNic comprises three business lines within the domain name industry. It operates a global wholesale network, supplying domain names to over 1,500 vendors in 77 countries. CentralNic is the exclusive wholesaler for over 30 new Top-Level Domain extensions (the new alternatives to .com and .net). These include .xyz, .site, .online, .website, .space, and .tech. These extensions rank among the top twenty five most subscribed new Top-Level Domains. One in three of all domains registered under new TLDs globally uses the CentralNic platform. This positions CentralNic as the leading global supplier with more than eight million of these domains under management.

CentralNic is also a leading global domain name retailer, with retail websites including internetbs.net, buydomains.london and domain.luxury. After acquiring Instra Group, CentralNic Group now includes instra.com and a number of other leading retail websites. Through its enterprise programme, CentralNic supplies domain names (including high-value premium domain names), software and services directly to large companies and governments.

For more information please visit: www.centralnic.com