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.