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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Buongiorno Expands to U.S. to Meet Demand for Personalized Mobile Content
MILAN, Italy and MIAMI, March 28 -- Buongiorno Vitaminic (Italy techSTAR: BVIT; Reuters: BVITA) -- recently voted the number one aggregator by telecom providers across Europe(1) -- today announces their expansion to the United States. Leveraging the company's success in Europe, Asia and Mexico, Buongiorno has been operating on premium SMS through four short-codes allowing delivery of mobile content to more than 126 million customers of telecommunication providers AT&T Cingular Wireless, Nextel, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. Buongiorno will enter the North American market as an integrated player capable of covering the entire mobile content value chain, from the technical development of solid proprietary applications (messaging and alerting SMS, MMS and WAP platforms), to content development with partners, to the management of marketing and CRM services.
Buongiorno sees North America as the most rapidly expanding -- and largely untapped -- mobile market in the world. Andrea Casalini, CEO of Buongiorno Vitaminic, said, "We are taking the usage adoption trends we've observed in early adopter markets, such as Europe and Asia, and applying them as an indication of what is to come in the U.S. Buongiorno's research and understanding of the international mobile content market and of its consumers makes the company uniquely positioned to blaze the trail for Value Added Services in the U.S."
Buongiorno's United States subsidiary is headquartered in Miami. The management team, which has extensive experience in the industry, is led by former Managing Director of Buongiorno UK and current President of U.S. Operations, Burton Katz. Mr. Katz said, "Based on our extensive market research we have conducted with out current customers and the international user base, we are excited to move into a market like the U.S. that has not yet reached its full potential. We are looking forward to taking Value Added Services to the next level by helping our partners give their customers the personalization and ease of use that they demand."
Buongiorno currently manages the distribution of more than 300 million pieces of digital content every month. The company has already built more than 600 licensing, software and CRM agreements worldwide including over 40 mobile operators, music labels, movie studios, game developers, and application and platform providers to provide a full catalog of mobile content for over 500 million consumers worldwide. Initial U.S. offerings, under the brand name DirtyHippo, include among others wallpapers, ringtones, multimedia games and interactive text services.
Specifically, the content options leverage Buongiorno extensive catalogue made of:
-- Over 250,000 music tracks available via agreements with 1,500 record
companies (including the 4 majors: Sony BMG, EMI Universal, Warner);
-- More than 10,000 tones (ring tones, true tones, sounds, video tones and
ring back tones, all original and high quality sounds);
-- 20 categories of videos (including music videos, like those from the
cult rap and hip hop Death Row Records, and videos from worldwide
blockbusters such as Battle of the Planets and Classic Comedy);
-- 50 categories of still and animated icons (including cartoon
characters, i.e. Garfield and Ziggy from GoComics and cute images from
the award-winning photographer, Rachael Hale)
-- 150 mobile game options (from international success, i.e. Airforce 2,
to local content, as Kick Boxing)
-- 120 SMS and MMS services; and 100 WAP/I-mode sites already live in
Europe.
Buongiorno is currently providing in-depth CRM capabilities to mobile operators allowing them to increase revenues of mobile content distributed to their customers. All of Buongiorno's services are managed through the company's proprietary platform, B!3A. B!3a enables content aggregation, storage and delivery of hundreds of thousands of multimedia objects and the generation of more than 300 million multi-channel messages including: SMS, MMS, videos, music and WAP-browsing email per month, to a potential audience of over 500 million clients all over the world. Buongiorno supports mobile providers to ensure efficient billing and operations by offering a one-stop shop for content, allowing the operators to concentrate on their number one priority, the customer. The company covers the entire mobile content value chain, from the technical development of solid proprietary applications (messaging and alerting SMS and MMS platforms), to content development with partners, to the management of marketing and CRM services.
Buongiorno Vitaminic's 2004 Revenue Figures
Buongiorno Vitaminic is well poised for a strong entry into the U.S. market. In 2004, Buongiorno:
-- Reached consolidated revenues of 81.1 million Euro ($105.9 million
USD), +54 percent YoY, (+48 percent in organic); the revenues are up to
85.6 million Euro ($113.3 million USD) on a pro-forma basis, after the
acquisition of Gsmbox, exceeding the pro-forma revenues targets
previously set.
-- Increased Gross Operating Margin (EBITDA) 12 times over the year prior.
-- Attained positive free cash flow with a net financial position of
3.3 million Euro ($4.5 million USD).
For 2005, Buongiorno forecasts revenues between 115-120 million Euros ($152-160 million USD), an EBITDA margin of between 11-14 million Euros ($15-18 million USD) and a net income between 6-9 million Euros ($8-12 million USD).
Buongiorno Vitaminic at a glance:
-- Services in 35 countries in 18 languages.
-- Operations through local teams in Europe, Mexico and the U.S.
-- A footprint covering more than 70 percent of the internet and mobile
population in Europe.
-- More than 500 first tier corporate partners.
-- More than 100 distribution partners worldwide.
-- Agreements with more than 40 mobile operators in Europe, South America,
the Middle East and South Africa distributing Buongiorno Vitaminic's
services to a potential audience of over 500 million clients.
About Buongiorno Vitaminic SpA
Buongiorno Vitaminic SpA (Italy, techSTAR: BVIT), is one of the leading European companies in the market of design, production, aggregation and distribution of multimedia content, mainly in the field of entertainment services via telephone or e-mail. Buongiorno Vitaminic has local teams in the main European markets (Italy, the UK, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Austria), in Mexico and in the U.S. The company also manages operations in South Africa and the Middle East through distribution partnerships with the main telephone carriers. Buongiorno Vitaminic operates with two lines of business -- digital marketing services and value-added consumer services for wired and wireless telephony -- whose synergies enhance the content aggregation, digital marketing and technology management skills of a team of more than 360 professionals, of 18 different nationalities, in Europe. U.S. headquarters are based in Miami, Florida.
Buongiorno Vitaminic -- member of the GSM Association, the CTIA, the EdiMA and the MEF -- ranked 30 amongst the fastest growing European companies included in Europe's 500, an annual listing endorsed by 3i, Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Additional company information is available on the website: www.buongiorno.com. Dirty Hippo can be accessed at www.dirtyhippo.com.
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