Podcast specialist Audioboom (BOOM:AIM) announced record sales and earnings for the three months to March and revealed it had already secured more revenues for this year than it booked for the whole of last year.
The company has positioned itself as the leading player in the growing podcast market and has trebled revenues in the last three years.
RECORD-BREAKING
For the first quarter, Audioboom registered revenues of $19.7 million, an increase of 107% on last year and a quarterly record.
Average global monthly downloads jumped 45% to 126.2 million, marking nine successive quarters of audience growth, with March downloads hitting a new record of 131 million.
Showcase, the company’s global advertising marketplace, has proved immensely successful with revenues in the first quarter up 150% on last year and to make up 11% of group income.
The firm has cashed in on the strong demand for advertising by hiking prices with the AUR (average unit rate) for its top 25 podcasts now $14,295 against just $6,455 a year ago.
This helped drive a 30-fold increase in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) from $30,000 to $900,000 for the quarter.
FULLY BOOKED
Although the first quarter is traditionally a quiet one in terms of ad spending, the group has already secured contracted revenues of $60.5 million for 2022, more than it booked in 2021, thanks to advance advertising deals.
The average number of advertisers on its platform is up 26% from 301 last year to 379 at the end of March.
Chief executive Stuart Last commented: ‘I am delighted to report that our fast growth has continued into 2022, further increasing our market share, deepening our work with our creators, expanding our options for advertisers, and achieving success for our original programming.’
The firm’s investment in its Audioboom Studios creative and production arm also paid off, notching up its first number one on the UK True Crime podcast chart with ‘Devils in the Dark’, its first original show for a UK audience.
After more than doubling from £10 in just a few months, the shares eased back 5% to £19.49 on today’s news.
