TIDMBOOM
RNS Number : 0874M
Audioboom Group PLC
19 January 2021
This announcement contains inside information as stipulated
under the UK Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR").
Audioboom Group plc
("Audioboom", the "Group" or the "Company")
Trading Update
Record quarterly performance, 20% annual revenue growth and
significant year-on-year adjusted EBITDA improvement - ahead of
market expectations
Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is
pleased to provide a trading update for the 12 months ended 31
December 2020.
Financial(1) and operating highlights
-- 2020 revenue of approximately US$26.8 million, up 20% on 2019
(US$22.3 million). Year-on-year growth outpaced the predicted wider
industry average growth by 94% ((2)
-- Adjusted EBITDA ((3) loss of US$1.8 million represents an
improvement of 36% on 2019 (US$2.9 million loss)
-- Q4 2020 revenue of approximately US$8.5 million, up 25% on Q4
2019 (US$6.8 million), and adjusted EBITDA loss of US$0.2 million,
a 53% improvement on Q4 2019 (US$0.5 million), and a record
quarterly performance
-- Brand advertiser count of 311 as at 31 December 2020, up 11% on December 2019 (280)
-- Global revenue per 1,000 downloads (eCPM) for December 2020
increased to US$39.34, up 33% (December 2019: US$29.60)
-- Total available premium advertising impressions for the 12
months to 31 December 2020 up 2% to 1,674 million (2019: 1,644
million), despite more conservative measurement basis being applied
in 2020 following the implementation of the IAB V2 Measurement
Standard ([4])
-- Continued strong improvement in performance related to our ad
technology, with revenue from our automated ad network in 2020 of
US$2.5 million, up 258% on 2019 (US$0.7 million)
-- Access to capital of US$6.6 million as at 31 December 2020,
representing Group cash of US$3.3 million and US$3.3 million of the
SPV loan facility remaining undrawn. US$0.7 million of the
previously drawn non-revolving SPV loan was repaid to SPV
Investments Limited in November 2020
Key Q4 2020 and post-period commercial developments
-- Continued expansion of the Audioboom Originals Network with
the launch of Raising A Pro, Crime Weekly (a co-production with
Main Event Media) and RELAX! with Colleen Ballinger and Erik
Stocklin
-- Extended co-production and commercial partnership with
Formula 1 until 2023. Audioboom will produce the F1: Beyond The
Grid and F1 Nation podcasts, and provide exclusive advertising
sales services
-- Enhanced our premium sales network through new commercial
partnerships with leading podcasts including The Fantasy
Footballers, Strange & Unexplained, Hoot and a Half, That Gaby
Roslin Podcast, Meditation Minis, and Team Never Quit
-- Consolidated our position as the sixth largest US podcast
publisher and largest international podcast publisher in Australia
in December 2020's Triton Digital Podcast Report
-- The Company has made a strong start to 2021, having already
signed advertising bookings representing over 50% of the current
market forecast for 2021 Group revenue
The Board is pleased to report this strong performance for the
year to 31 December 2020 with the Company exceeding market
expectations for the second year in succession. This outperformance
against the growth in the wider industry was especially impressive
given the challenges posed by Covid-19, particularly in the second
quarter of the year. The Board continues to be excited about the
opportunities for the Audioboom business and is confident that this
momentum will continue into 2021. As a result, it is the Board's
expectation that Audioboom will be EBITDA positive for the year
ending 31 December 2021.
Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented: "I am delighted that
the company continues to perform well on all fronts despite one of
the most challenging years in history. Ending the year with record
quarterly revenue and EBITDA performance highlights the growing
strength and potential of this business.
"In 2021, we will continue to scale our content operation,
partnering with leading independent podcasts and investing in our
in-house production arm. We see significant potential in emerging
revenue streams that utilise our ad tech platform, including
programmatic and international sales.
"We are laser-focused on moving the business to an EBITDA
positive position in 2021 and the Company has made a very strong
start to advertising bookings in 2021. Our team at Audioboom are
executing a strategy that will continue our impressive growth and
deliver even more value to our podcast partners and our
shareholders."
1) Financial information for the year ended 31 December 2020 remains subject to audit
2) eMarketers August 2020 Podcast Advertising Revenue Report
states that US podcast advertising revenue is expected to grow by
10.4% in 2020 relative to 2019
3) Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation,
share based payments and material one-off items
4) In 2021, Audioboom will replace its available premium
advertising impressions KPI with an industry standard monthly
global downloads KPI. This data point will be measured by the
Interactive Advertising Bureau's Podcast Measurement Standard V2.
Equivalent quarterly 2020 monthly global downloads were as follows:
Q2: 73.5 million, Q3: 77.9 million, Q4: 81.7 million
Enquiries
Audioboom Group plc
Stuart Last, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44(0)300 303
Brad Clarke, Chief Financial Officer 3765
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser Tel: +44(0)20 3328
and Broker) 5656
David Hart/Alex Brearley/Asha Chotai (Corporate
Finance)
Guy McDougall / Amrit Nahal (Sales and
Corporate Broking)
About Audioboom
Audioboom is a global leader in podcasting - our shows are
downloaded more than 85 million times each month by 25 million
unique listeners around the world. Audioboom is ranked as the sixth
largest podcast publisher in the US by Triton Digital.
Audioboom's ad-tech and monetisation platform underpins a
scalable content business that provides commercial services for a
premium network of 250 top tier podcasts, with key partners
including 'Casefile True Crime' (US), 'Morbid' (US), 'True Crime
Obsessed' (US), 'The Morning Toast' (US), 'No Such Thing As A Fish'
(UK), and 'The Cycling Podcast' (UK).
The Audioboom Originals Network is a slate of content developed
and produced by Audioboom including 'Baby Mamas No Dramas',
'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. For
more information, visit audioboom.com. 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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END
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January 19, 2021 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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