REG - Audioboom Group PLC - Q3 Trading Update

AudioboomAnnouncement

16/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1468Q  Audioboom Group PLC  16 October 2023

 

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

 

Audioboom Group plc

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

 

Q3 Trading Update

 

Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, announces its
trading update for the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

 

Financial and operating KPIs

 

 ●    Total revenue for the nine months to 30 September 2023 of US$45.8 million
      (2022: US$57.1 million), reflecting the loss of the Morbid podcast which left
      the network in May 2022 and a weak advertising market during this period
 ●    Strong start to Q4 2023 with anticipated revenue of at least US$19 million,
      the Company's highest revenue quarter since Q2 2022 and representing a return
      to year-on-year growth on a quarterly basis (Q4 2022: US$18.3m)
 ●    Total adjusted EBITDA(1) loss for the nine months to 30 September 2023 of
      US$1.7 million, which includes full payment of all creator minimum guarantees
      signed to the Audioboom network before the advertising market downturn
 ●    Anticipated return to adjusted EBITDA profit in Q4 2023 through acceleration
      in revenue and consequently reduced exposure to creator contractual minimum
      guarantee obligations
 ●    Record average monthly downloads in Q3 2023 of 126.6 million, up 18% on Q3
      2022 (107.5m downloads)
 ●    Average Q3 brand advertiser count of 7,960, up 40% on Q3 2022 (5,699 brands)
 ●    September E-CPM (revenue per 1000 downloads) of US$43.90, compared to the Q3
      average of US$37.00, highlights significant operational improvements that
      delivered strong revenue in the month, with further sequential monthly revenue
      growth expected to continue into Q4 2023
 ●    The Company is positioned to capture maximum available advertising demand with
      a record inventory of 1 billion ad impressions created for sale in October (vs
      675 million in Oct 2022)
 ●    The Audioboom Creator Network continues to expand with leading podcasts signed
      to the network during Q3 2023 including: Girls Next Level, The Adam Friedland
      Podcast, We're Here To Help, Out of The Pods, The Bulwark Network, Your Mom
      & Dad and Girls Gone Bible. These shows are expected to contribute more
      than eight million monthly downloads to the network in 2024
 ●    Continued strong growth of Showcase, with revenue from our ad-tech powered
      marketplace up 30% YTD vs the same period in 2022. New demand-side
      partnerships launched in Q3 with DAX US, Amazon Ads, Bold Collective and
      Antipodes will increase future Showcase monetisation opportunities
 ●    Audioboom continues to rank as the fifth largest podcast publisher in the key
      US market in both the Edison Research and Triton Digital podcast reports, as
      well as third in Australia, second in New Zealand and fourth in Canada on the
      Triton Digital Podcast ranker, highlighting strong global performance
 ●    Strong operating performance and tight controls over operating expenditure has
      delivered a 10% reduction in total opex(2) for the nine months to 30 September
      2023 of US$7.9 million (to 30 September 2022: US$8.8 million)
 ●    Group cash at 30 September 2023 of US$3.0 million (30 June 2023: US$5.3
      million) with a further US$1.8 million available via an undrawn overdraft. Q3
      cash utilisation included facilitating US$1.0 million of recoupable advance
      payments to top tier podcasters. A further US$2.0 million has been collected
      post quarter end
 ●    The Company anticipates record revenue in 2024, with operational improvements
      (including the significant reduction in minimum guarantee obligations)
      delivering a return to strong adjusted EBITDA positivity

 

Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented: "Strong operational progress in Q3
2023 will be recognised through a return to year-on-year and strong sequential
revenue growth in the final quarter of the year, as well as a return to
adjusted EBITDA profit on a quarterly basis.

 

Across 2023 we have made improvements in key areas of our business in order to
accelerate our path back to growth. Our milestone of creating 1 billion
sellable advertising impressions in October is the result of changes to our
inventory creation process, further development of our Showcase marketplace,
and the continued growth of the Audioboom Creator Network. This positions us
to capture maximum advertiser demand, deliver more than US$19 million of
revenue in Q4 2023, and puts us on a path to record annual revenue in 2024.

 

As audiences continue to flock to podcasting - highlighted by the record 126
million plus downloads across our network each month - we are optimising for
the current advertising market, while we are also primed and ready to take
full advantage of any future macro improvements.

 

Further operational optimisation, particularly improvements to our creator
contracts which increase our share of advertising revenue, whilst vastly
reducing our exposure to minimum guarantees, are expected to move us back to
adjusted EBITDA profitability in Q4 and drive EBITDA growth in 2024.

 

I would like to thank our partners for continuing to support the Company
through a more challenging period than we had expected, I am confident about
our prospects for 2024 and I am pleased to maintain our expectations for
record revenue performance next year."

 

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

2)     Operating costs before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation,
share based payments and non-cash foreign exchange movements

 

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

 Charlotte Sutcliffe/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 fifth largest podcast publisher in the US by
Edison Research and 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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