REG - Audioboom Group PLC - Q1 Trading Update

AudioboomAnnouncement

15/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 5123K  Audioboom Group PLC  15 April 2024

 

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

11% revenue growth, continued EBITDA profitability and record Q1 eCPM and
brand count

 

Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is delighted to
provide a trading update for the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

 

Financial and operating highlights

 

·      Q1 revenue of US$17.1 million, up 11% on Q1 2023 (US$15.4
million). The positive momentum of Q4 2023 has continued with the second
successive quarter of year-on-year revenue growth Revenue growth has
accelerated in this period (Q4 2023: 5% up on Q4 2022) and the Company expects
further acceleration in revenue growth rate through upcoming quarters

·      March revenue of US$6.7 million represented the highest revenue
month for the Company since May 2022

·      Q1 adjusted EBITDA((1)) profit of US$0.1 million (Q1 2023: US$0.2
million), representing the second successive quarter of adjusted EBITDA
profitability. With Q1 historically the seasonal low point for revenue and
EBITDA, we expect EBITDA profit to expand in future quarters

·      Record Q1 eCPM (average global revenue per 1,000 downloads) of
US$52.17, up 27% (Q1 2023: US$41.13)

·      Record Q1 average total brand advertiser count of 7,839, up 21%
on Q1 2023 (6,498)

·      Average Q1 global monthly downloads of 110.0 million, (Q1 2023:
125.2 million, Q4 2023: 110.1 million). Due to Apple's iOS17 update in
September 2023, download numbers across the wider podcast industry have
decreased by an average of 32%((2)). Audioboom's Q1 year-on-year decrease of
12% significantly outperforms the market. We expect the impact of the iOS17
update to create more favourable long-term commercial conditions in the
podcast industry due to the increased levels of return-on-investment that more
accurate download data will deliver to advertisers

·      Further restructuring of creator contracts resulting in more
favourable revenue shares and more than US$5 million of Minimum Guarantee
obligations being removed

·      Group cash of US$3.1 million (31 December 2023: US$3.7 million)
with a further US$1.8 million available via an undrawn overdraft

·    The Company is confident it will achieve its revenue and adjusted
EBITDA goals for 2024, and has made significant progress with contracted
revenue of more than US$55 million for the year through advanced advertising
bookings - more than US$8 million added since the January 2024 Trading Update

 

Key Q1 2024 commercial developments

 

·    Record audience reach achieved in January 2024, with more than 38.6
million unique listeners consuming podcasts through the Audioboom platform

·    Record revenue from Showcase, our global advertising marketplace, in
March 2024 reflects the Company's continued progress in building key
advertising technology

·    Record advertising inventory levels, with more than 1.1 billion
impressions being made available to customers in March 2024, a 10% increase on
the previously announced record from October 2023 (1 billion)

·    Audioboom climbed the February 2024 Triton Digital podcast ranker for
audience reach, and is now the fourth biggest publisher in the US - the
world's largest podcast market

·    The expansion of Audioboom's executive team, with the hiring of Molly
Harvey as Vice President of Brand Sales (formerly of SiriusXM and CBS Radio),
and Shaun Wilson as Vice President of UK Sales (formerly of Spotify and Sony
Entertainment). These roles will focus on the expansion of Audioboom's brand
sales business

·    Successful renewal of contracts with top tier podcasts in the
Audioboom Creator Network, including The Tim Dillon Show, True Crime Obsessed,
I Think Not, Crime Weekly, and Real Ghost Stories. These podcasts contribute
more than 90 million downloads to the network on an annual basis

·    Further expansion of the Audioboom Creator Network through the
signing of new shows including: Pretty X Unfiltered, Soder, BDA with Katherine
Schwarzenegger, Omnibus, Do We Know Them? and George Conway Explains It All To
Sarah Longwell. These shows are expected to deliver more than 4 million
downloads to the network each month

 

Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented:

 

"2024 has started exactly as we hoped with the positive momentum of the final
quarter of last year continuing. We recorded our second successive period of
year-on-year revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA profit as our recovery from
the challenging market conditions of 2023 continued. Over this coming year I
expect our revenue growth rate to improve further. We have more than US$55
million of contracted revenue for 2024 from advance advertising bookings, and
we are perfectly positioned at this stage of the year to deliver our goals of
record revenue and adjusted EBITDA profitability.

 

We have made investments in our sales operation, and I am very pleased to
bring two highly skilled and experienced executives into the Audioboom team.
Molly Harvey in the US and Shaun Wilson in the UK will focus on expanding our
blue-chip brand customer base to drive revenue and continue the maturation of
our podcast monetisation engine.

 

Other key initiatives within the Company - including the continued growth of
our Showcase marketplace, accelerated ad inventory creation, the expansion of
our brand platform Sonic, and the restructuring and renewal of podcaster
contracts on more favourable terms - continued to progress well in Q1.

 

We also took our first steps in the utilisation of AI to generate advertising
creative and translate content for international distribution, as well as
expanding our work in monetising YouTube content. These are two areas I
believe will provide significant opportunity for the business in the coming
years.

 

Sentiment in the advertising industry continues to improve, which can be seen
in our progress so far. The team at Audioboom are continuing to create strong
value in our platform for creators and brands, and we all look forward to
delivering a record 2024."

 

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

2)     Podnews analysis of Apple iOS17 impact utilising Triton Digital
download data

 

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/Abigail Kelly/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 more
than 135 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', '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 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.

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