Interim Report Q2, 2023

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Strong 15% streaming revenue growth

“The second quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter of positive Group EBITDA and underlines the improvements that have been made. Storytel Streaming saw extended organic revenue growth, increased ARPU, solid subscriber growth and subscriber engagement as well as stable and healthy churn levels. Our disciplined approach is laying the foundation for continued profitable growth, supported by near-term operational improvements across our business. In the quarter, we demonstrated continued progress through new Partnership agreements, improved Content economics, and the concluded successful implementation of new service tiers and price levels in the Nordics”, says Johannes Larcher, CEO, Storytel.

Financial Highlights Q2

        Streaming revenue up 13% from Q2 2022 to 799 (704) MSEK, 15% excluding Russia

        Group net sales increased by 9% from Q2 2022 to 851 (781) MSEK, 11%
excluding Russia

        Gross profit of 333 (290) MSEK, equaling a margin of 39.1% (37.2%)

        EBITDA of 40 (-6) MSEK equaling a margin of 4.6% (-0.7%). Adjusted for items affecting comparability, EBITDA last year amounted to 13 MSEK

        Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to -0.41 (-0.80) SEK 

        Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital amounted to 24 (-55) MSEK

        Operational cash flow amounted to -5 (-49) MSEK

Other Highlights Q2

        Storytel Awards surpasses the milestone of 200,000 votes – audiobook fan engagement soaring to record levels

        Significant multi-year agreement with Bulgaria’s largest telco A1 Bulgaria. The deal makes Storytel part of exclusive selection of premium services on A1 Bulgaria’s platform, reaching more than 4 million potential customers

        Storytel acquired the rights to the Finnish bestselling Koskinen crime series

        Storytel held a Capital Markets Day and presented mid-term financial targets together with the strategic direction to further strengthen its leading position

        Storytel entered into a strategic partnership with ElevenLabs and announced the upcoming launch of a new VoiceSwitcher feature

Highlights after the End of the Quarter

        Storytel entered into a strategic partnership with Telenor-owned CBB Mobil, a Danish provider of communications and entertainment services, to accelerate growth in Denmark

        Storytel launched the first version of its new VoiceSwitcher feature together with ElevenLabs, available in all markets on selected books in the English language

 

Table 1: Key Performance Indicators

TSEK

Q2 2022

Q3 2022

Q4 2022

Q1 2023

Q2 2023

Streaming Total

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

704,454

742,426

742,283

742,081

798,881

Revenue excl Russia

693,464

732,837

742,374

742,081

798,881

Gross profit

278,554

307,463

304,594

317,067

344,949

Gross margin

39.5%

41.4%

41.0%

42.7%

43.2%

Avg. Paying Subscribers

2,031,000

2,064,000

2,036,000

2,041,000

2,055,000

ARPU (SEK/month)

116

120

122

121

130

 

 

 

 

 

 

Streaming Nordics1

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

469,390

492,765

498,336

496,630

543,765

Gross profit

177,354

189,289

184,767

200,992

227,364

Gross margin

37.8%

38.4%

37.1%

40.5%

41.8%

Avg. Paying Subscribers

1,078,000

1,129,000

1,132,000

1,125,000

1,122,000

ARPU (SEK/month)

145

145

147

147

162

 

 

 

 

 

 

Streaming Non-Nordics

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

235,064

249,662

243,947

245,451

255,117

Revenue excl Russia

224,074

240,073

244,038

245,451

255,117

Gross profit

101,190

118,173

119,828

116,075

117,585

Gross margin

43.0%

47.3%

49.1%

47.3%

46.1%

Avg. Paying Subscribers

953,000

935,000

904,000

916,000

933,000

ARPU (SEK/month)

82

89

90

89

91

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

156,999

147,199

193,069

130,083

128,668

Gross profit

78,185

81,916

85,141

68,472

67,525

Gross margin

49.8%

55.6%

44.1%

52.6%

52.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group total2

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

780,730

805,819

866,663

796,293

851,070

Gross profit

290,363

311,907

322,377

315,501

333,183

Gross margin

37.2%

38.7%

37.2%

39.6%

39.1%

1 Streaming revenue includes all of Storytel Norway’s revenue.

2 In the consolidated accounts, Storytel Norway is reported in accordance with the equity method. As a result, the Streaming revenue listed in Table 1 is higher than in the consolidated statement of accounts in order to provide a more accurate figure for average revenue per subscriber. Please see Note 5 for additional details.

 

The full report can be found as an attachment.

 

For more information, please contact:

Niklas Alm, Interim Head of Investor Relations,

Tel: +46 70 824 40 88, Email: niklas.alm@storytel.com

 

This information is such that Storytel AB (publ) is obliged to disclose in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was provided, through the agency of the above contact person, at the time stated in this press release, by Cision.

FNCA Sweden AB is the company’s certified adviser.

 

About Storytel

Storytel is one of the world’s largest audiobook and e-book streaming services and offers more than one million titles on a global scale. Our vision is to make the world a more empathetic and creative place, with great stories to be shared and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere and anytime. The streaming business within the Storytel Group is conducted under the brands Storytel, Mofibo and Audiobooks.com. The publishing business is managed by Storytel Books, and by the audiobook publisher StorySide. The Storytel Group operates in over 25 markets. The headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden.