Zinc Media Group Reports 35% Surge in Middle East Revenue in H1 FY26 Amid Strategic Growth Success

Zinc Media Group plc (AIM: ZIN), a leading television and content production company, released its trading update for the first half of fiscal year 2026, reporting strong financial and operational results across its three strategic growth pillars.

The group’s Middle East revenue surged by 35% compared to the full year FY25, reaching £311.5 million in H1 FY26. This marks a remarkable 130% growth since FY24, underscoring the success of Zinc’s Geographical Expansion strategy launched in April 2025. The company aims to increase Middle East revenue from £38.5 million in FY25 to £312 million by 2028, with current trends indicating it is ahead of schedule.

Overall, Zinc secured or advanced revenue totaling £334 million for FY26 recognition, with an additional £33 million in advanced discussions. This reflects a return to normalized seasonal trading following an unusually H1-heavy profile in the previous year.

Cash reserves stood at £32.7 million as of 30 June 2026, down from £34.2 million a year earlier. The reduction primarily resulted from earn-out payments and restructuring costs associated with the company’s 'One Zinc' strategic initiative.

The 'One Zinc' restructuring has delivered £3.7 million of targeted annualized savings in H1 FY26, progressing toward a £31 million savings goal.

Zinc’s portfolio includes production labels such as Atomic, Brook Lapping, Electric Violet, Raw Cut, Rex, Red Sauce, Supercollider, and Tern Television, alongside post-production and commercial units Bumblebee Post-Production, The Edge, and Zinc Audio.

The group’s three strategic growth pillars—Geographical Expansion, Genre Diversification, and Intellectual Property (IP) Exploitation—are all outperforming initial targets. Collectively, these pillars aim to generate a £310 million revenue increase by the end of 2028.

Zinc has agreed to acquire WMP Qatar, a Doha-based events production firm, although completion is pending regulatory filings and has been delayed due to Qatar’s national mourning period.

Significant new commissions include producing 'Stars of Science' for Qatar Science and Technology Park and two major BBC geopolitical documentaries through the Brook Lapping label.

The IP exploitation pillar is showing strong momentum, with £32.2 million of FY26 revenue already secured and expectations to reach £33.4 million by year-end. This represents nearly 75% of the full-year target achieved halfway through FY26, signaling substantial outperformance compared to the previous year.

Zinc’s three-year IP growth target was to increase IP and format-led revenues by £31 million, from £32.7 million in FY25 to £34.5 million by 2028. The company is well ahead of this trajectory, potentially reaching £33.4 million in FY26 alone.

Despite geopolitical tensions, particularly the Iranian conflict, which delayed approximately £35 million of new business from FY26 to FY27—mainly impacting international projects and premium events under the Supercollider label—local production in Qatar and Saudi Arabia remains resilient.

A milestone was achieved with Zinc securing its first entertainment TV series commission in the Middle East, although production will commence later than initially planned.

Zinc’s strategy to establish operational hubs in key regional markets continues to support its long-term growth vision and resilience amid geopolitical challenges.

Overall, Zinc Media Group’s H1 FY26 update demonstrates robust growth, strategic execution, and strong positioning across its core markets and business segments, setting a solid foundation for continued expansion through 2028.