Just thought that I ought to point out a couple of significant errors in your story however, which you might want to correct in the next edition of your publication.
In paragraph 4 of the feature on me and continuing to subsequent paragraphs, BM said “At the core of Pulse’s performance is a whopping 97.3% of its income from “advertising entitlements”. This, according to company Executive Kingsley Cooper, is what firms pay to have their brands displayed at Pulse’s events, and critically, the value of the advertising time and space it receives from media as “sponsors” of its events. In other words rather than collect hard cold cash for its events and media properties, the company has opted to exchange this for entitlements with the related sponsoring company. Put another way, Pulse is bartering its products and services for products and services of sponsoring companies………….Pulse however, did collect some cash. So while “advertising” revenues skyrocketed, other income streams, including model agency fees and earnings from property lease, dipped marginally from $37.8m to $36.7m”
I refer to the KPMG audited financials for year ended June 30, 2008.
While advertising entitlements (which is simply advertising credits which broadcasters pay to us for the right to air our TV shows) and “in kind sponsorship” (airline tickets, hotel rooms, etc.) combined, grew to $1.196m from $688m, “hard cold” cash grew to $160m, up 60% from $100m the previous year. This cash includes cash sponsorships, rental income, ticket sales and model agency commissions. See page 21 of the Financial Statements.
Ad entitlements and in kind sponsorships combined therefore represented 88% of revenues, not the 97.3% stated by BM. That number is incorrect.
Cash was therefore 12%, not 2.7% as BM suggested. That would hardly have been sufficient to cover the cash portion of our expenses.
While we do accept ad entitlements and in kind sponsorships from clients as pay for services, we sell our products and services for cash as well. It is incorrect to suggest otherwise. Our strategy in the coming years is to increase cash as a percentage of total income, by putting our entitlements to work, among other initiatives.
ur other income streams (cash), as indicated above, also grew, so it is incorrect to say that they “dipped marginally”. Growth in cash revenues (60%) was almost as significant as the growth in ad entitlements (74%).
Hope this will lead to a better understanding of our business and a more accurate representation of the facts.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Kingsley Cooper
Executive Chariman Pulse Investments Limited