Dianomi margin recovery strengthens as first-half revenue reaches £13.4 million

Dianomi's first-half trading update shows a business making steady progress where it matters most: margins, losses and cash generation.

Revenue growth remained modest during the six months to 30 June 2026, but improved gross margin performance lifted gross profit by £0.6 million. The digital advertising specialist also generated positive cash flow despite remaining loss-making at the EBITDA level.

That combination is encouraging, although investors should note that Dianomi has not disclosed the size of its expected EBITDA loss or provided detailed financial guidance for the rest of 2026.

Dianomi's key first-half figures

The figures are unaudited and cover the six months to 30 June 2026.

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Revenue	£13.4 million	£13.2 million	2% growth
Constant currency revenue growth	4.5%	Not disclosed	Not applicable
Gross profit	£3.9 million	£3.3 million	£0.6 million increase
Gross margin	28.9%	25.3%	3.6 percentage point increase
EBITDA	Small loss	£0.6 million loss	Significant improvement
Period-end cash	£6.0 million	£5.7 million	£0.3 million increase
Debt	None	Not disclosed	Group remains debt free

Revenue increased by 2% year on year to £13.4 million. On a constant currency basis, which strips out the effect of exchange-rate movements, growth was 4.5%.

The gap between those two rates suggests currency movements reduced the growth shown in Dianomi's reported sterling figures. The underlying growth rate is better than the headline number, but neither figure points to rapid expansion.

Margin improvement is the standout feature

The most important number in this update is arguably the gross margin rather than revenue.

Gross profit rose from £3.3 million to £3.9 million, while the gross margin increased from 25.3% to 28.9%. That is a 3.6 percentage point improvement in the proportion of revenue left after the direct costs of delivering the service.

For a company producing relatively modest top-line growth, stronger margins can have an outsized effect on profitability. Dianomi expects to report a small EBITDA loss, significantly better than the £0.6 million loss recorded in the comparable period.

EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It is commonly used to assess underlying operating performance, although it is not the same as statutory profit or cash flow.

The exact H1 2026 EBITDA loss was not disclosed. That limits the precision with which investors can judge Dianomi's progress towards break-even. Even so, the direction of travel is positive: gross profit is higher, the EBITDA loss has narrowed and cash has increased.

Cash performance provides useful reassurance

Dianomi ended June with £6.0 million of cash, compared with £5.7 million a year earlier and £5.8 million at the end of December 2025.

The Group said it generated positive cash flow during the period despite its EBITDA loss. It also remains debt free.

That matters because loss-making smaller companies can become dependent on external funding if their operations continually consume cash. Dianomi's update does not indicate that kind of immediate pressure. Its cash balance increased by £0.2 million during the first half and by £0.3 million year on year.

However, the announcement does not provide a full cash flow breakdown. Investors will need the detailed interim results to understand what drove the movement and whether the positive cash generation reflects sustainable operating improvements.

Publisher partnerships are expanding

Dianomi provides digital advertising services to clients in the business, finance and lifestyle sectors. Its advertisements are placed across the websites and applications of premium publishers and designed to fit the context and style of the surrounding page.

During H1 2026, the Group expanded its partnerships with CNN News and Associated Press. Dianomi added advertising units to new pages, extending its existing presence across the publishers' wider sites.

This is strategically useful. Publisher relationships give Dianomi access to the audiences that advertisers want to reach, so deeper engagement from existing partners supports the commercial relevance of its platform.

The update does not quantify the expected revenue contribution from these expanded partnerships. Investors should therefore treat them as evidence of commercial progress rather than assume a particular financial impact.

Dianomi Interactive adds a new advertising format

The Group launched Dianomi Interactive in April. The format allows users to interact directly within an advert, including exploring products, participating in polls and using other interactive elements.

Dianomi says the format can increase dwell time, meaning the period a user spends engaging with an advertisement, and lead to higher click-through rates. It can also produce additional engagement data for advertisers.

According to the Company, the response from premium advertisers and publishers generated immediate engagement and has produced a pipeline of campaigns in development.

This sounds promising, but a pipeline is not the same as booked or recognised revenue. The announcement does not disclose the number, value or timing of these potential campaigns. The next test is whether initial interest converts into repeatable sales and contributes meaningfully to profit.

A dedicated investor relations offering

Dianomi has also launched a dedicated Investor Relations and Corporate Communications vertical. A vertical is a specialist business offering focused on a particular customer market.

The move is intended to serve listed companies seeking to communicate with institutional investors, financial advisers and retail investors. Dianomi said it is building on investor relations campaigns already completed, although financial details were not disclosed.

A new Head of Insights has also been appointed to develop audience intelligence and data-driven analysis. The aim is to help clients understand and engage their target investor audiences more effectively.

This initiative broadens Dianomi's proposition beyond its existing advertising formats. It could deepen relationships with financial-sector clients, but the update does not provide revenue targets, investment costs or a timetable for the new vertical.

What investors should watch next

There is plenty to like in this update. Gross margins have strengthened, the EBITDA loss has narrowed, cash has risen and the balance sheet remains debt free. Expanded publisher relationships and new products also give Dianomi several potential routes to future growth.

The main reservation is that reported revenue grew by only 2%, while management said advertisers remain cautious compared with historic spending levels. Dianomi also remains loss-making at the EBITDA level, even if the loss is now small.

No specific full-year revenue, profit or cash guidance was disclosed. That means the next set of results will need to show whether the first-half margin improvement is sustainable and whether the new campaign pipeline is translating into revenue.

For now, Dianomi's first half looks more like a story of improving efficiency than rapid sales growth. Maintaining the higher gross margin while moving from a small EBITDA loss towards break-even would be the clearest evidence that the operational progress is becoming financially durable.