Storytel Interim Report January - March 2023

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Storytel

03 May, 2023, 06:35 GMT

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: +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.

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