“Laying the foundation for further profitable growth in 2023 and beyond, Storytel continued to drive near-term operational improvement programs across all parts of our business delivering progress with renegotiated and new signed Partnerships, improved Content economics, and the introduction of new service tiers and price levels in the Nordics. We are now in the final phase of completing our strategic plan and mid-term financial targets, which will be presented at our Capital Markets Day in Stockholm on June 13”, says Johannes Larcher, CEO, Storytel.
Financial highlights
- Streaming revenue up 6% from Q1 2022 to 742 (699) MSEK, 9% excluding Russia
- Group net sales increased by 7% from Q1 2022 to 796 (747) MSEK, 10% excluding Russia
- Gross profit of 316 (288) MSEK, equaling a 39.6% margin (38.6)
- EBITDA of 30 (-149) MSEK equaling a margin of 3.8% (-19.9)
- Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to -0.81 (-3.43) SEK
- Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital amounted to 18 (-135) MSEK
- Operational cash flow amounted to -8 MSEK versus -122 MSEK
Other highlights
- Anna Etzler appointed SVP Operations
- Oleg Nesterenko appointed Chief Marketing Officer
- Peter Messner appointed Chief Financial Officer
- The Finnish audiobook service Suomalainen Plus merges its subscriber base with Storytel Finland
Highlights after the end of the quarter
- Significant multi-year agreement with Bulgaria’s largest telco A1 Bulgaria. The deal makes Storytel part of the exclusive selection of
premium services on A1 Bulgaria’s platform, reaching more than 4 million potential customers. - Storytel Awards surpasses the milestone of 200,000 votes – audiobook fan engagement soaring to record levels
- Storytel announced that the company will hold a Capital Markets Day on June 13, 2023
Table 1: Key Performance Indicators
| TSEK | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 |
| Streaming Total1,2 | |||||
| Revenue | 698,599 | 704,454 | 742,426 | 742,283 | 742,081 |
| Revenue excl Russia | 679,654 | 693,464 | 732,837 | 742,374 | 742,081 |
| Gross Profit | 283,868 | 278,554 | 307,463 | 304,594 | 317,067 |
| Gross margin | 40.6% | 39.5% | 41.4% | 41.0% | 42.7% |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers | 2,051,000 | 2,031,000 | 2,064,000 | 2,036,000 | 2,041,000 |
| ARPU (SEK/month) | 114 | 116 | 120 | 122 | 121 |
| Streaming Nordics1 | |||||
| Revenue | 458,555 | 469,390 | 492,765 | 498,336 | 496,630 |
| Gross Profit | 165,788 | 177,354 | 189,289 | 184,767 | 200,992 |
| Gross margin | 36.2% | 37.8% | 38.4% | 37.1% | 40.5% |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers | 1,061,000 | 1,078,000 | 1,129,000 | 1,132,000 | 1,125,000 |
| ARPU (SEK/month) | 144 | 145 | 145 | 147 | 147 |
| Streaming Non-Nordics | |||||
| Revenue | 240,044 | 235,064 | 249,662 | 243,947 | 245,451 |
| Revenue excl Russia | 221,099 | 224,074 | 240,073 | 244,038 | 245,451 |
| Gross Profit | 118,080 | 101,190 | 118,173 | 119,828 | 116,075 |
| Gross margin | 49.2% | 43.0% | 47.3% | 49.1% | 47.3% |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers | 990,000 | 953,000 | 935,000 | 904,000 | 916,000 |
| ARPU (SEK/month) | 81 | 82 | 89 | 90 | 89 |
| Books | |||||
| Revenue | 149,305 | 156,999 | 147,199 | 193,069 | 130,083 |
| Gross Profit | 84,399 | 78,185 | 81,916 | 85,141 | 68,472 |
| Gross margin | 56.5% | 49.8% | 55.6% | 44.1% | 52.6% |
| Group total2 | |||||
| Revenue | 747,170 | 780,730 | 805,819 | 866,663 | 796,293 |
| Gross Profit | 288,498 | 290,363 | 311,907 | 322,377 | 315,501 |
| Gross margin | 38.6% | 37.2% | 38.7% | 37.2% | 39.6% |
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:
Niklas Alm, Interim Head of Investor Relations,
Tel: +46 70 824 40 88
Email: niklas.alm@storytel.com
Dan Panas, Senior Director Corporate Communications
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 persons, 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.