TIDMBOOM
RNS Number : 8843X
Audioboom Group PLC
10 January 2022
This announcement contains inside information as stipulated
under the UK Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR").
Audioboom Group plc
("Audioboom", the "Group" or the "Company")
2021 Trading Update and Notice of Investor Presentation
125% annual revenue growth and maiden annual profit
Record quarterly performance in Q4 2021
Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global podcast company, is
delighted to provide a trading update for the 12 months ended 31
December 2021.
Financial(1) and operating highlights
-- 2021 revenue of approximately US$60.2 million, up 125% on
2020 (US$26.8 million). Year-on-year growth outpaced the predicted
wider industry growth by 108%(2)
-- Maiden annual adjusted EBITDA(3) profit, ahead of market
expectations, of approximately US$3.0 million (2020: US$1.8 million
loss), with the Company recording positive adjusted EBITDA(3) in
every month in 2021
-- Maiden annual net profit of approximately US$1.4 million (2020: US$3.3 million loss)
-- Q4 2021 revenue of US$20.5 million, up 141% on Q4 2020
(US$8.5 million), and up 21% on Q3 2021 (US$16.9 million)
-- Average global monthly downloads for Q4 increased to 113
million, up 39% on Q4 2020 (81.7 million). Global downloads in
October 2021 reached a record 115.7 million
-- Average brand advertiser count for Q4 of 396, up 32% on Q4 2020 (301)
-- Average global revenue per 1,000 downloads (eCPM) for Q4
increased to US$55.85, up 49% (Q4 2020: US$37.55)
-- Cash ended the period ahead of expectations, with Group cash
of US$3.0 million (31 September 2021: US$1.2 million) and the
Company still had access to US$3.3 million of the non-revolving SPV
loan facility
Key Q4 2021 and post-period commercial developments
-- Significant growth of ad tech related revenue during Q4 2021,
driven by an increase in adoption of our proprietary inventory
creation tool AdRip, and the launch in November 2021 of Showcase,
our global advertising marketplace. Revenue from ad tech in Q4 was
approximately 3.5X that of Q1 2021 and for the first time reached
more than US$1.0 million in a month in December 2021
-- Increased premium advertising inventory from new major
content partnerships including Two Hot Takes and Murder Mysteries
and Makeup
-- Long-term renewal of key content partnerships in our Premium
Network, including Casefile True Crime, Mile Higher, Strange &
Unexplained, Lights Out and The Sesh
-- Significant pricing growth for premium inventory in 2022. Q1
2022 Average Unit Rate (AUR) for top 25 podcasts is 26% higher than
Q4 2021
-- As of 31 December 2021, the Company had contracted revenue in
excess of US$45 million for 2022 through advance advertising
bookings. At 31 December 2020, US$20 million revenue was
contracted
The Board is delighted to report this strong performance for the
year to 31 December 2021 with the Company exceeding market
expectations once again. The Board continues to be excited about
the opportunities for the business and is confident that this
positive momentum will continue into 2022.
Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented: "2021 was a phenomenal
year for Audioboom. In my second year leading the business we have
delivered an incredible set of results, the culmination of our
focus on content expansion and platform development.
Achieving profitability on both an adjusted EBITDA and net basis
is transformative, establishing a self-sustaining business funded
for continued growth, and reshaping shareholder value.
Our revenue growth has once again significantly outperformed the
wider industry. We've gained strong market share, and now rank as
the 4(th) largest podcast publisher in the US. Alongside our
ranking of 2(nd) in New Zealand and 3(rd) in Australia, we continue
to develop a strong global position.
I'm very excited about 2022. We have seen unprecedented demand
and high pricing during this year's "upfront" advertising sales
process, during which we have already booked more than US$45
million of advertising for 2022, giving us a strong foundation for
further growth. Our newly created production team in the UK has a
strong set of shows in development, and we will continue to invest
into our ad tech platform following the successful launch of
Showcase, our global advertising marketplace.
I want to congratulate the entire Audioboom team and thank our
shareholders who continue to support our ambitions to be a global
leader in podcasting."
Investor Presentation
Stuart Last, CEO, and Brad Clarke, CFO, will provide a live
presentation relating to this trading update via the Investor Meet
Company platform on 20 January 2022 at 3:00pm.
The presentation is open to all existing and potential
shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your
Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9am the day before the
meeting or at any time during the live presentation.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add
to meet Audioboom via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/audioboom-group-plc/register-investor
Investors who already follow Audioboom on the Investor Meet
Company platform will automatically be invited.
1) Financial information for the year ended 31 December 2021 remains subject to audit
2) Interactive Advertising Bureau's May 2021 Podcast Advertising
Revenue Study states that US podcast advertising revenue is
expected to grow by 60% in 2021 relative to 2020
3) 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
Brad Clarke, Chief Financial Officer 4285
finnCap Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Jonny Franklin-Adams/Abigail Kelly/Milesh Hindocha Tel: +44(0)20 7220
(Corporate Finance) 0500
Richard Chambers/Harriet Ward (ECM)
About Audioboom
Audioboom is a global leader in podcasting - our shows are
downloaded more than 116 million times each month by 32 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 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).
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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END
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