Mobile firms do well in Tech Track 100 league

Rating: Keep an eye on Mobilewebadz & Omnifone

Writing about the UK’s Top Twenty ‘cool’ brands today [24th September 2012], (see here) GoMobile News remembered that we hadn’t mentioned the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league table which appeared on 16th September [2012]. Just like the CoolBrands survey, high tech companies which are mobile orientated in particular did really well. Two companies which definitely deserve a name check are Mobilewebadz (4th) and Omnifone (20th) which both secured high places.If you want to see the whole High Tech 100, the easier way is to visit the FastTrack site here.

We reckon that just under 10 per cent of all the companies mentioned in this league table have a direct relationship with the mobile/cellular industry.

On paper, it might seem strange that Omnifone beat Shazam – both players in th4e mobile music sector, when Shazm came in at the 67th slot in the table whilst Omnifone was 20th.

That’s because the companies all have to be private, basically based in Britain and be privately owned.

However, the most important parameter for this table is the percentage by which the company increased its profits within the last 12 months (to August 2012].

Omnifone increased its annual growth by 106.28 per cent whereas Shazam its annual sales by a ‘mere’ 50.27 per cent.

However, 2012 was Omnifone’s most successful financial year after turning a profit (£3.8 million) for the first time in its nine year history.

Nevertheless, Omnifone achieved a 106.28 per cent sales growth per annum, whilst the average of all other companies on the list was 81 per cent.

Sales in the last financial year for Omnifone were in excess of £29.3 million.

Omnifone’s CEO, Jeff Hughes, commented, “Recognition in The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league table is an honour for our company and is further evidence that we are experiencing fantastic momentum as a result of the flourishing digital music market.”

He continued, “Our high sales growth plus ability to turn a profit this year are signs that our business-to-business model works and we will continue to drive this growth through more targeted consolidation and business-to-business customers and partners.”

Probably the biggest overall winner in the mobile/ cellular sector , however, was Lycamobile which achieved an annual sales growth of an impressive 247.25 per cent which shot the company into second place.

The dark horse, was undoubtedly Mobilewebadz. It sales grew 218 per cent a year – from £265,000 in 2009 to £8.5 million in 2012. It now serves approximately it serves 16.5 billion adverts each month.

The company claims it has become the world’s most lucrative mobile ad with advertisers and publishers getting 12 billion impressions.

Not bad considering it only started mobile advertising back in 2005. The company’s md is Kieran O’Keeffe.

We fully expect to hear more form Mobilewebadz in the near future.