“After a breakthrough first quarter of 2021 in which the Company reported a maiden adjusted EBITDA profit, the story of the second quarter is of accelerated revenue and EBITDA growth as our content-focused expansion strategy delivered increased value to the business,” said CEO Stuart Last. “We have made a strong impact on the industry,” he asserted, referring to the Audioboom Originals Network which includes owned-and-operated podcasts Dark History, RELAX!, The Southern Tea, and Dark Air with Terry Carnation.
The earnings release notes that Audioboom has signed advertising that already represents over 90% of the Board’s revenue expectations for 2021. Here are the financial highlights for Q1 and H1:
- Record H1 revenue of US$22.8 million, up 93% on H1 2020 (US$11.8 million). Year-on-year growth outpaced the predicted wider annual industry average growth by 55%*
- Record Q2 revenue of US$13.3 million, up 144% on Q2 2020 (US$5.4million) and up 39% on Q1 2021 (US$9.5 million)
- Adjusted EBITDA** profit of US$0.2 million (H1 2020: US$1.2 million loss)
- Group loss for the period significantly reduced to US$0.46 million (H1 2020: US$2.0 million loss)
- Average Q2 global monthly downloads increased to 92.1 million, up 25% on Q2 2020 (73.5 million). Global downloads in June 2021 reached 92.8 million
- Average Q2 brand advertiser count of 326, up 27% on Q2 2020 (256)
- Average global revenue per 1,000 downloads (eCPM) increased to US$50.73 in Q2 2021, up 92% (Q2 2020: US$26.41)
- Access to capital of US$4.8 million as at 30 June 2021, represented by Group cash of US$1.5 million and US$3.3 million of the non-revolving loan facility with SPV Investments Limited remaining available
Global sales partnerships are part of the story; they include MAPP Media (UK), Australian Radio Network (Australia) and Ideabrew Studios (India).
Stuart last informs investors that investment is a key priority — that includes an expanded podcast production slate and development of new ad tech.
“Audioboom is a leader in podcasting globally, and the performance in the first half highlights that the Group is increasingly capitalising on this market position to the benefit of shareholders,” he said.
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