CentralNic Group – executive interview: Strong growth still largely unrewarded

CentralNic is a leading global domain name services and online marketing company, operating through two divisions: Online Presence, which provides businesses with services including domain names, hosting, websites, email, security certification and brand protection; and Online Marketing, built around the Team Internet business acquired in 2019, which helps domain name owners monetise online traffic using an anonymised, privacy protected marketing platform.

In this interview following the group’s H121 results, Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic, explains the synergies between the Online Presence and Online Marketing divisions, then discusses the impressive recent performance of Online Marketing and why increasing privacy concerns could actually benefit the business. He also highlights the balance between the two divisions and the future shape of the business. Ben then talks about the investment in systems and people, which drove 20% y-o-y organic growth in H121, before outlining the operating leverage that CentralNic hopes to benefit from as the business scales. The interview concludes with an update on CentralNic’s buy-and-build acquisition strategy.