ONE Great Studio Company Limited (1GS) has pulled back the curtain on its second quarter (Q2) 2023 Shareholders Report, showcasing a 187 per cent surge in revenues. The success of its search engine optimization (SEO) business line, through the acquisition of HVSEO, has been highlighted as the driving force behind the remarkable growth, delivering a substantial $91.2 million in revenue during the quarter.

“The SEO company that we acquired wasn’t a part of the group at the time, so if you look at the year over year comparisons when you look at Q2 2022 versus Q2 2023, it would be basically a big chunk of that is attributable to the acquisition, so we haven’t had a full year yet,” co-founder and CEO Djuvane Browne explained to the Jamaica Observer.

For the three months ending June 30, 2023, total revenues reached an impressive $120.5 million more than double the $42 million recorded for the same period last year. The web & app development segment also played a significant role as the second-largest revenue generator. Notably, 1GS has been strategically focusing on expanding its income streams beyond Jamaica, with over 80 per cent of its revenue originating from outside the country during Q2 2023. North America led the way, contributing 60 per cent of the total income, followed by 22 per cent from Jamaica & the Caribbean, 10 per cent from Europe, and the remaining 7 per cent from Asia & Oceania regions, all results from the SEO integration.

“We want to go into Europe more and also into the other to grow that out as well, because we have a customer base in Australia as well and so what we want to do is to push into those regions a little more, do some intentional focus on developing the business in Europe and Australia,” Brown told the Business Report. He explained that Europe is attractive because the company has strong German and Spanish speakers on the team and being able to operate in different languages gives the company a competitive advantage.

According to its shareholder’s report, the focus now shifts to executing a medium-term growth strategy, which involves “the full integration of the SEO business line and cross-selling of services to new clients obtained from HVSEO.” There’s has been a recognisable increase in demand for SEO services in developed countries with robust e-commerce infrastructure and large populations, and 1GS plans to harness those opportunities. 1GS also anticipates growth from increased visibility and branding after successfully listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), which is expected to solidify the company’s position as a leading digital agency in the region. “Coming out of the IPO I think we have a lot more visibility, a lot more people are aware of the brand and we’ve also seen an increase in inquiries from people reaching and asking how can we help them,” Browne said.

The digital agency also reported a jaw-dropping 498 per cent increase in net profit for the three months ending June 30, 2023. A six times increase from the $4.5 million to $27.1 million for Q2 2023. The growth in net profit also contributed to increasing shareholder equity, which now stands at $251.9 million. Browne revealed that shareholders will have more to benefit from as the company continues to expand on its services.

“We’re building out our business development resources now. For a long time that team was meagre, so we’re building out, we’re investing in business development. We want to package our products and service in new ways to sell them to the market as well. We will explore other inorganic opportunities as well, we’ll also be in a position where we can go and do other acquisitions as well. So all those things we will be tackling,” he said.