This
announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the UK
Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR").
Audioboom Group plc
("Audioboom" or the
"Company")
2024 Trading Update
Adjusted EBITDA profit ahead of market
expectations, 13% annual revenue growth
Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading global
podcast company, is pleased to provide a trading update for the 12
months ended 31 December 2024.
Financial(1) and operating
highlights
·
2024 revenue of approximately US$73.4 million, up 13% on 2023 (US$65.0 million).
Audioboom's revenue growth is ahead of the IAB's 2024 industry
growth forecast
·
Annual adjusted EBITDA(2) profit of approximately
US$3.4 million, up US$3.8
million on 2023 (adjusted EBITDA loss US$0.4 million) and
significantly ahead of the thrice upgraded 2024 market
expectations
·
Record quarterly adjusted EBITDA of US$2.1 million in Q4
2024, up US$1.6 million on
Q4 2023 (adjusted EBITDA profit US$0.5 million), reflecting a
record 10% EBITDA margin in Q4 2024
·
Significant growth of Showcase - our scalable,
higher gross margin, tech-based, global advertising marketplace.
Record revenue of US$23.1 million, up 56% on 2023 (US$14.8 million) and
reflecting the Company's continued focus on growing its highest
gross margin product. In 2024, the revenue contribution of Showcase
increased to 32% (2023: 23%)
·
Record RPM(3) (average revenue per 1,000
downloads) in Q4 2024 of US$75.62, up 29% on Q4 2023 (US$58.82)
·
Record average total brand advertiser count in Q4 2024 of
9,497, up 13% on Q4 2023
(8,406)
·
Group cash at 31 December 2024 of US3.9 million (31 December
2023: US3.7 million) with a further US$3.1 million available via a
recently increased overdraft facility
· The
Company has already contracted revenue of more than US$54 million
for 2025, through advance bookings during a positive "upfronts"
advertising season. Pricing for our Premium advertising product is
approximately 17% higher than the 2024 upfronts, highlighting
continued advertising market improvements
· The
Company anticipates record revenue and record adjusted EBITDA
profit in 2025
Key Q4 2024
and post-period commercial developments
· Expansion of our creator
network through new tier one content partnerships, including
Reading Reddit,
Smosh Mouth, Not Loveline and Aware and Aggravated. These shows are
expected to contribute more than five million downloads and YouTube
views per month to the Audioboom Creator Network in 2025
·
Signed a multi-year partnership with Triton Digital to
utilise TAP, a technology tool to further scale and optimise
advertising inventory in Showcase and support the next phase of
growth in our marketplace
·
Signed a multi-year commercial deal with Voxnest, as a major
buy-side partner in Showcase to increase demand for the
marketplace
·
Multi-year partnership renewals with key
creators including Tim
Dillon, The Bulwark
Network, Cryptic
County, No Such Thing As A
Fish and Kendall
Rae. These shows contribute more than 11 million downloads
per month to the Audioboom Creator Network
·
Further reduction of more than US$3.0 million of annual
minimum guarantee obligations beginning Q1 2025, with further
reductions to our minimum guarantee exposure expected throughout
2025
·
Ended 2024 as the 4th largest podcast publisher in
the US on the Triton Digital ranker, as well as 4th in
Australia, 3rd in Canada, 2nd in New Zealand
and 7th in Latin America - highlighting the platform's
global scale
Stuart Last,
CEO of Audioboom, commented: "I am very pleased to report that we
have beaten adjusted EBITDA expectations for the fourth time in
2024 - a great way to round off another successful year in the
growth of Audioboom as the world's leading independent podcast
platform.
Our focus on
high-quality revenue saw us deliver US$3.4 million of adjusted
EBITDA in 2024. The final quarter highlights the strong business
model we have created - stable operating costs and higher margins
delivering an EBITDA margin of more than 10% in Q4
2024.
At the heart
of our success was the continued growth of Showcase - our global
ad-tech marketplace which enables brands to target audiences at
scale and ensures podcasters on the Audioboom Creator Network
maximise the value from their content. Showcase is the highest
gross margin product in our business and is now responsible for 32%
of our revenue (up from 23% in 2023). Through our new technology
and commercial partnerships with Triton Digital and Voxnest, I
expect the contribution of Showcase to grow further in 2025 and
beyond, leading to vastly improved net revenues and adjusted
EBITDA.
2025 is set
to be a record year for Audioboom. We have renewed key partnerships
with our best creators including Tim Dillon, Kendall Rae, No Such
Thing As A Fish, The Bulwark Network and Cryptic County, and have
signed a stellar group of top tier new podcasts to the Audioboom
Creator Network, including Reading Reddit, Smosh Mouth, Not
Loveline and Aware & Aggravated. We have booked more than US$54
million of revenue for the year, with pricing and demand up
significantly from 2024 - reflecting continued improvements in the
advertising market.
The dedicated
work of the Audioboom team to reshape the business during a
challenging advertising market in 2023 has been realised over the
last 12 months, and I am hopeful that the market will recognise
this work and the true value of this business we are building for
the benefit of all our stakeholders."
1) Financial
information for the year ended 31 December 2024 remains subject to
audit
2) Earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share based
payments, non-cash foreign exchange movements, material one-off
items and onerous contract provisions and losses
incurred
3)
Previously named E-CPM, the name of this KPI has been updated to
RPM (Revenue Per Mille) to align with industry standards. There has
been no change to the calculation
Enquiries
|
Audioboom Group plc
|
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Stuart Last, Chief Executive
Officer
Brad Clarke, Chief Financial
Officer
|
Tel: +44(0)20 3714 4285
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|
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Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd (Nominated Adviser and
Broker)
|
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Jonny Franklin-Adams/Elysia
Bough/Rory Sale (Corporate Finance)
Harriet Ward (ECM)
|
Tel: +44(0)20 7220 0500
|
About
Audioboom
Audioboom is a global leader in podcasting -
our shows are downloaded 100 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', '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.
