REG - Audioboom Group PLC - Q1 Trading Update

AudioboomAnnouncement

19/04/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 6667W  Audioboom Group PLC  19 April 2023

 

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

 

Audioboom Group plc

("Audioboom", the "Group" or the "Company")

 

Q1 Trading Update

Solid performance and positioned for further growth

 

Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is pleased to
provide a trading update for the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

 

Financial and operating highlights

 

·    Q1 revenue, in line with expectations, of US$15.4 million.  This
was, as expected, lower than Q1 2022 (US$19.5 million). Q1 2022 revenue,
excluding the Morbid podcast which left the network in May 2022, was US$15.4
million

·    Strong management and cost control enabled maintenance of profitable
operations despite market conditions with Q1 adjusted EBITDA((1)) profit of
US$0.2 million (Q1 2022: US$0.9 million).  The cost base remains adaptable to
market conditions with Q1 2023 operational costs down 14% versus Q1 2022

·    Group cash at 31 March 2023 of US$5.1 million (31 December 2022:
US$8.1 million) with a further US$1.8 million available via an undrawn
overdraft. Expected Q1 cash utilisation included facilitating advance payments
to top tier podcasters, which are then expected to be recouped across the
contract term. A further US$3.6 million has been collected post quarter end

·    Average global monthly downloads of 125.2 million, up 13% on Q4 2022
(110.9 million) and comparable to Q1 2022 (126.2 million).

o  The Audioboom Creator Network continues to expand (see details of
significant renewals, new multi-year signings and strategic partnerships
below), with the c.30 million monthly downloads lost when Morbid left the
network now replaced

·    Average monthly brand advertiser count of 6,498, up 74% on Q1 2022
(3,745) and up 9% on Q4 2022 (5,944).

o  The repositioning of the sales operation is largely complete, enabling
Audioboom to expand its customer base to established brand advertisers and
media agencies for incremental revenue upside

·    Average global revenue per 1,000 downloads (eCPM) of US$41.00 (Q1
2022: US$48.50), reflecting continued strong download numbers offset by short
term pricing dictated by current market conditions

·    Continued strong growth of Showcase, our global advertising
marketplace, with revenue up 47% on Q1 2022, contributing more than 20% to
Group revenue, up from 11% in Q1 2022.

o  Total Showcase advertising impressions made available to buyers of 1.6
billion were up 57% on Q1 2022 (988 million)

·   Record 38.2 million monthly unique listeners to the Audioboom Creator
Network in March 2023, up 18% on March 2022 (32.3 million)

·   Record 2.5 billion total advertising impressions made available to
brands across the Audioboom platform in Q1 2023, up 31% on Q4 2022 (1.92
billion)

·   Audioboom continues to cement its position as the leading pure-play
podcast publisher, ranking fifth in the key US market in both the Edison
Research and Triton Digital reports

·   As previously announced, to reflect the Company's strong performance
in recent periods and forecasted future growth, it is the Board's current
intention to introduce a progressive dividend policy with a maiden dividend in
respect of the current financial year of at least 8 pence share being declared
and paid in 2024

 

Key Q1 2023 commercial developments

 

·      Renewal of a multi-year commercial partnership with Australian
Radio Network (ARN) in which ARN will provide exclusive monetisation
representation for Audioboom's advertising inventory in Australia and New
Zealand

·      The multi-year renewal of a strategic partnership with Formula 1
in which Audioboom will provide global distribution, production through
Audioboom Studios, and monetisation services for the official Formula 1
podcast slate including F1: Beyond The Grid and F1 Nation

·      New exclusive tier one partnerships launched in Audioboom's
creator network including Networth & Chill, Sinisterhood, Teachers Off
Duty, No Sleep, Your Rich BFF, Cup of Justice, Usual Disclaimer with Eleanor
Neale and Stan Report with Brittany Broski

·      Multi-year renewal of partnerships with key podcasts in the
Audioboom creator network including Tiny Meat Gang, Astonishing Legends, Speak
The Truth, Killer Queens, Devils in the Dark and The Cycling Podcast

 

Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented: "During Q1 we improved our business
operations significantly, in spite of challenging market conditions.  We now
have a record 38 million-plus unique listeners. We have expanded our monthly
downloads to more than 125 million - replacing the c.30 million monthly
downloads that were lost when the Morbid podcast left our network in May 2022.
We created a record 2.5 billion advertising impressions in the quarter and
made improvements to the revenue shares we receive from advertising.

 

Our operational enhancements ensure that we are primed to take full advantage
of future improvements in the ad market - we have more inventory to sell than
ever before and will do so at a more favorable revenue share. The recent
restructuring of our sales operation is enabling us to build a new
customer-base with larger, more mature brands and agencies - incremental
opportunity that will allow us to optimise our monetisation platform.

 

We recognise the near-term challenging ad market conditions, but in the medium
to long-term we are confident that brands continue to trust podcasting as a
key part of their marketing strategy - highlighted by the US$52 million of
advertising revenue that we currently have booked for 2023.  We continue to
expect to deliver year-on-year growth for the full year as well as continuing
to outperform the wider market, and we see strong signs that the ad market is
returning.

 

Audioboom continues to focus on building the world's leading podcasting
business and, with market conditions improving, we are ready to take full
advantage."

 

1)     Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share
based payments, non-cash foreign exchange movements and material one-off items

 

Enquiries

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

 Brad Clarke, Chief Financial Officer

 finnCap Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
 Jonny Franklin-Adams/Abigail Kelly/Milesh Hindocha (Corporate Finance)  Tel: +44(0)20 7220 0500

 Charlotte Sutcliffe/Harriet Ward (ECM)

About Audioboom

 

Audioboom is a global leader in podcasting - our shows are downloaded more
than 130 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 Edison Research.

 

Audioboom's ad-tech and monetisation platform underpins a scalable content
business that provides commercial services for more than 8,000 podcasts, with
key partners including 'Casefile True Crime' (US), 'True Crime Obsessed' (US),
'The Tim Dillon Show' (US), 'No Such Thing As A Fish' (UK), and 'The Cycling
Podcast' (UK).

 

Audioboom Studios is home to a slate of content developed and produced by
Audioboom, including 'Dark Air with Terry Carnation', 'F1: Beyond The Grid',
'RELAX!', 'Covert', 'It's Happening with Snooki & Joey', 'Mafia', 'Huddled
Masses' and 'What Makes A Killer'.

 

Audioboom operates internationally, with operations and global partnerships
across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The platform allows content
to be distributed via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer,
Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Saavn, Stitcher, Facebook and
Twitter as well as a partner's own websites and mobile apps.

 

For more information, visit audioboom.com.

 

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