REG - Audioboom Group PLC - 2024 Trading Update

AudioboomAnnouncement

15/01/2025 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250115:nRSO3293Ta&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3293T  Audioboom Group PLC  15 January 2025

This announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the UK
Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR").

 

Audioboom Group plc

 

("Audioboom" or the "Company")

 

2024 Trading Update

Adjusted EBITDA profit ahead of market expectations, 13% annual revenue growth

 

Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is pleased to
provide a trading update for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024.

 

Financial((1)) and operating highlights

 

·    2024 revenue of approximately US$73.4 million, up 13% on 2023
(US$65.0 million). Audioboom's revenue growth is ahead of the IAB's 2024
industry growth forecast

·    Annual adjusted EBITDA((2)) profit of approximately US$3.4 million,
up US$3.8 million on 2023 (adjusted EBITDA loss US$0.4 million) and
significantly ahead of the thrice upgraded 2024 market expectations

·    Record quarterly adjusted EBITDA of US$2.1 million in Q4 2024, up
US$1.6 million on Q4 2023 (adjusted EBITDA profit US$0.5 million), reflecting
a record 10% EBITDA margin in Q4 2024

·   Significant growth of Showcase - our scalable, higher gross margin,
tech-based, global advertising marketplace. Record revenue of US$23.1 million,
up 56% on 2023 (US$14.8 million) and reflecting the Company's continued focus
on growing its highest gross margin product. In 2024, the revenue contribution
of Showcase increased to 32% (2023: 23%)

·    Record RPM((3)) (average revenue per 1,000 downloads) in Q4 2024 of
US$75.62, up 29% on Q4 2023 (US$58.82)

·    Record average total brand advertiser count in Q4 2024 of 9,497, up
13% on Q4 2023 (8,406)

·    Group cash at 31 December 2024 of US3.9 million (31 December 2023:
US3.7 million) with a further US$3.1 million available via a recently
increased overdraft facility

·   The Company has already contracted revenue of more than US$54 million
for 2025, through advance bookings during a positive "upfronts" advertising
season. Pricing for our Premium advertising product is approximately 17%
higher than the 2024 upfronts, highlighting continued advertising market
improvements

·    The Company anticipates record revenue and record adjusted EBITDA
profit in 2025

 

Key Q4 2024 and post-period commercial developments

 

·   Expansion of our creator network through new tier one content
partnerships, including Reading Reddit, Smosh Mouth, Not Loveline and Aware
and Aggravated. These shows are expected to contribute more than five million
downloads and YouTube views per month to the Audioboom Creator Network in 2025

·    Signed a multi-year partnership with Triton Digital to utilise TAP, a
technology tool to further scale and optimise advertising inventory in
Showcase and support the next phase of growth in our marketplace

·    Signed a multi-year commercial deal with Voxnest, as a major buy-side
partner in Showcase to increase demand for the marketplace

·    Multi-year partnership renewals with key creators including Tim
Dillon, The Bulwark Network, Cryptic County, No Such Thing As A Fish and
Kendall Rae. These shows contribute more than 11 million downloads per month
to the Audioboom Creator Network

·    Further reduction of more than US$3.0 million of annual minimum
guarantee obligations beginning Q1 2025, with further reductions to our
minimum guarantee exposure expected throughout 2025

·    Ended 2024 as the 4(th) largest podcast publisher in the US on the
Triton Digital ranker, as well as 4(th) in Australia, 3(rd) in Canada, 2(nd)
in New Zealand and 7(th) in Latin America - highlighting the platform's global
scale

 

 

Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented: "I am very pleased to report that we
have beaten adjusted EBITDA expectations for the fourth time in 2024 - a great
way to round off another successful year in the growth of Audioboom as the
world's leading independent podcast platform.

 

Our focus on high-quality revenue saw us deliver US$3.4 million of adjusted
EBITDA in 2024. The final quarter highlights the strong business model we have
created - stable operating costs and higher margins delivering an EBITDA
margin of more than 10% in Q4 2024.

 

At the heart of our success was the continued growth of Showcase - our global
ad-tech marketplace which enables brands to target audiences at scale and
ensures podcasters on the Audioboom Creator Network maximise the value from
their content. Showcase is the highest gross margin product in our business
and is now responsible for 32% of our revenue (up from 23% in 2023). Through
our new technology and commercial partnerships with Triton Digital and
Voxnest, I expect the contribution of Showcase to grow further in 2025 and
beyond, leading to vastly improved net revenues and adjusted EBITDA.

 

2025 is set to be a record year for Audioboom. We have renewed key
partnerships with our best creators including Tim Dillon, Kendall Rae, No Such
Thing As A Fish, The Bulwark Network and Cryptic County, and have signed a
stellar group of top tier new podcasts to the Audioboom Creator Network,
including Reading Reddit, Smosh Mouth, Not Loveline and Aware &
Aggravated. We have booked more than US$54 million of revenue for the year,
with pricing and demand up significantly from 2024 - reflecting continued
improvements in the advertising market.

 

The dedicated work of the Audioboom team to reshape the business during a
challenging advertising market in 2023 has been realised over the last 12
months, and I am hopeful that the market will recognise this work and the true
value of this business we are building for the benefit of all our
stakeholders."

 

 

1)     Financial information for the year ended 31 December 2024 remains
subject to audit

2)     Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share
based payments, non-cash foreign exchange movements, material one-off items
and onerous contract provisions and losses incurred

3)     Previously named E-CPM, the name of this KPI has been updated to
RPM (Revenue Per Mille) to align with industry standards. There has been no
change to the calculation

 

Enquiries

 

 Audioboom Group plc
 Stuart Last, Chief Executive Officer                             Tel: +44(0)20 3714 4285

 Brad Clarke, Chief Financial Officer

 Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
 Jonny Franklin-Adams/Elysia Bough/Rory Sale (Corporate Finance)  Tel: +44(0)20 7220 0500

 Harriet Ward (ECM)

About Audioboom

 

Audioboom is a global leader in podcasting - our shows are downloaded 100
million times each month by 38 million unique listeners around the world.
Audioboom is ranked as the fourth largest podcast publisher in the US by
Triton Digital.

 

Audioboom's ad-tech and monetisation platform underpins a scalable content
business that provides commercial, distribution, marketing and production
services for a premium network of top tier podcasts. Key partners include the
official Formula 1 podcasts 'F1: Beyond the Grid' and 'F1 Nation', 'True Crime
Obsessed' (US), 'The Tim Dillon Show' (US), 'No Such Thing As A Fish' (UK) and
'The Cycling Podcast' (UK).

 

Audioboom operates internationally, with global partnerships across North
America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The platform distributes content via
Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts,
iHeartRadio, Facebook and Twitter as well as a partner's own websites and
mobile apps.

 

For more information, visit audioboom.com.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTGPUCUGUPAGRC