Minds + Machines 'upbeat' about outlook for 2016

7th Nov 2016 10:01

(ShareCast News) - Minds + Machines Group, which owns and operates internet domains, reported that it has made progress with its domains in Europe, China and the US, while it remains "upbeat" about the outlook for the rest of the year.The company said that 24 of its top-level domains have now been transferred onto the Nominet internet platform on schedule and on budget, with the final two domains to transfer on 8 November.For Europe the first UK registrar to introduce a marketing initiative saw a threefold increase in '.london' registrations.In China, where a branch office is due to open in Xiamen to complement the existing presence in Beijing, the company registrations in '.vip', the domain which was launched in May, have passed 500,000 and was achieved without the use of freemium sales models in marketing.In the US, the transfer of '.boston' has completed the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) processes, which allows the company, the Boston Globe and the city of Boston to begin planning for a 2017 launch. Geographical top-level domain assets are an important segment of its portfolio.There has been higher than expected renewal rates across its US facing vertical top-level domain assets as the company continues to test-market initiatives in North America.Chief executive Toby Hall said: "We are continuing to both rationalise our historic business and invest in our partners and portfolio to ensure we build on this momentum in 2017 across each of our key markets. After a period of significant internal heavy lifting, we are now beginning to see the advantages that our portfolio of top-level domains can deliver."Shares in Minds + Machines Group were down 0.44% to 11.32p at 0927 GMT.