Storytel Interim Report January - March 2023

STOCKHOLM, May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "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: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Dan Panas, Senior Director Corporate Communications
Tel: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

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.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/11546/3762248/2027637.pdf	Release
https://mb.cision.com/Public/11546/3762248/99c3a7203c715b89.xlsx	Quarterly Figures - Interim Report January-March 2023
https://mb.cision.com/Public/11546/3762248/8014de4cbed11318.pdf	Interim Report January-March 2023

 

 

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