Highlights
“It makes me proud to acknowledge that Storytel saw a 31% year over year streaming revenue growth excluding Russia in Q2, and a positive Group EBITDA margin of 1.6%, adjusted for items affecting comparability. This was driven by continuous growth in our priority markets in the Nordics, Europe and in the US and a continued commitment to an effective use of costs, investments and resources in line with our focused strategy.” says Ingrid Bojner, Acting CEO, Storytel.
Financial highlights
- Streaming revenue up 29% from Q2 2021 to 704 (545) MSEK, 31% excluding Russia
- Group Net sales increased by 28% from Q2 2021 to 781 (611) MSEK
- Gross profit of 290 (232) MSEK, equaling a 37.2% margin
- Gross profit excluding items affecting comparability of 315 (232) MSEK, equaling a 40.3% margin
- EBITDA of -6 (-59) MSEK equaling a -0.7% (-9.7%) margin
- EBITDA excluding items affecting comparability of 13 (-59) MSEK, equaling a 1.6% (-9.7%) margin
- Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to -0.80 (-1.88) SEK
Other highlights
- Continued implementation across four strategic pillars including right-sizing
- Focused investments in priority markets
- Introduced limited-on-time subscription Basic
- Annual General Meeting held on May 4
- Letter of commitment to Science Based Targets initiative submitted
Table 1: Key Performance Indicators
| TSEK | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
| Streaming Total1 | Forecast | |||||
| Revenue | 545,451 | 583,084 | 605,128 | 698,599 | 704,454 | 724,000-731,000 |
| Revenue excl Russia | 529,197 | 565,949 | 584,495 | 679,654 | 693,464 | |
| Gross Profit | 209,529 | 233,287 | 220,003 | 283,868 | 278,554 | |
| Gross margin | 38.4% | 40.0% | 36.4% | 40.6% | 39.5% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers2 | 1,626,900 | 1,724,000 | 1,784,600 | 2,051,000 | 2,031,000 | |
| ARPU | 112 | 113 | 113 | 114 | 116 | |
| Streaming Nordics1 | ||||||
| Revenue | 423,323 | 447,199 | 459,018 | 458,555 | 469,390 | 489,000-491,000 |
| Gross Profit | 161,457 | 179,074 | 171,791 | 165,788 | 177,354 | |
| Gross margin | 38.1% | 40.0% | 37.4% | 36.2% | 37.8% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers | 983,600 | 1,024,000 | 1,047,900 | 1,061,000 | 1,078,000 | |
| ARPU | 143 | 146 | 146 | 144 | 145 | |
| Streaming Non-Nordics | ||||||
| Revenue | 122,128 | 135,885 | 146,110 | 240,044 | 235,064 | 235,000-240,000 |
| Revenue excl Russia | 105,874 | 118,750 | 125,477 | 221,099 | 224,074 | |
| Gross Profit | 48,073 | 54,213 | 48,212 | 118,080 | 101,190 | |
| Gross margin | 39.4% | 39.9% | 33.0% | 49.2% | 43.0% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers | 643,300 | 700,000 | 736,700 | 990,000 | 953,000 | |
| ARPU | 63 | 65 | 66 | 81 | 82 | |
| Books | ||||||
| Revenue | 149,962 | 180,116 | 204,316 | 149,305 | 156,999 | |
| Gross Profit | 85,866 | 119,054 | 128,737 | 84,399 | 78,185 | |
| Gross margin | 57.3% | 66.1% | 63.0% | 56.5% | 49.8% | |
| Group total2 | ||||||
| Revenue | 611,202 | 680,855 | 740,805 | 747,170 | 780,730 | |
| Gross Profit | 232,135 | 279,882 | 281,977 | 288,498 | 290,363 | |
| Gross margin | 38.0% | 41.1% | 38.1% | 38.6% | 37.2% |
1 Storytel Norway is included in the figures @ 100%.
2 In the consolidated accounts, 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:
Andreas Lindblom, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +46 72 506 14 22
Email: andreas.lindblom@storytel.com
Dan Panas, Head of Global Communications & PR
Tel: +46 70 186 52 90
Email: dan.panas@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. FNCA can be reached at info@fnca.se or +46 8 528 00 399.
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.