Audioboom looks past the loss of Morbid podcast
(), the global podcast company, saw its half-year results for the six months ending June 30 2023 slip by nearly a quarter to $31.8m after the departure of the Morbid podcast from its network in May 2022.
The company said that despite the drop in revenue, sales had grown sequentially between the first and second quarters, up 6.5% to $16.4m, and that it had demonstrated strong cost control and achieved significant milestones in key performance indicators (KPIs).
First half adjusted operating expenses were cut by 11% to $5.5m, which kept adjusted EBITDA profit in the black at $0.3 million, albeit lower than the $2.0 million it delivered in the same period last year.
Behind the headline figures was steady growth in its global podcast downloads, with average second quarter monthly downloads hitting 125.9 million, up 1% from the previous quarter. May 2023 saw a record high of 135.2 million monthly downloads.
That helped boost its attractiveness to advertisers, with the average Q2 brand advertiser count increasing by 24% to 8,042, while June 2023 saw a record 8,786 brand advertisers. This growth was supported by a 6% increase in global revenue per 1,000 downloads (eCPM) in Q2 2023, reaching $43.55 compared to Q1 2023's $41.00.
New content partnerships and exclusive collaborations during launched in the half should keep momentum up. Noteworthy podcasts added to the company's creator network included The Tim Dillon Show, No Sleep, Networth and Chill, The Broski Report, Real Ones with Jon Bernthal, Trading Secrets, and Once Upon A Crime.
And its Showcase advertising marketplace should help to turn content investment into sales. Revenue from advertising technology saw a notable increase, rising 18% in Q2 2023 compared to Q1 2023 and 35% higher than H1 2022. Showcase's contribution to Audioboom's total revenue also grew, accounting for more than 21% in H1 2023, up from 15% in H1 2022.
Audioboom ended the period with a healthy $5.3 million in cash, with a further $2.7m collected in July. Alongside an undrawn overdraft facility of $1.9 million, the company looks like it has plenty of firepower to invest as it targets a return to what it describes as “meaningful growth” as advertising markets bounce back from a soft year.
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