During the fourth quarter of 2018, Storytel had on average
768,700
paying subscribers, an increase of nearly 48,000 subscribers compared
to the
third quarter of 2018, and somewhat higher than the published forecast
of
765,000 paying subscribers. Streaming revenue for the fourth quarter of
2018
also beat expectations at app. 291.3 MSEK (as compared to the forecast of
290
MSEK), indicating a 39.2% annual growth rate.
During the fourth quarter of
2018, the average number of Swedish subscribers
totalled 345,000, or 4,200 more
than forecast. In addition, revenue forecasts
were surpassed by approximately
2.5 MSEK, and Swedish streaming revenue totalled
140 MSEK during the fourth
quarter of 2018. The increase of subscribers in
Sweden was partially spurred on
by the introduction of the Family Subscription
which was introduced in
December. In total, the Swedish subscriber base
increased by 52,500 subscribers
during 2018, in line with Storytel’s goals for
the year.
“After a
well-executed effort involving a large proportion of the organisation,
we’ve
now developed our version of a family subscription plan, which has
initially
been very well received by our customers. With individual accounts and
a
special focus on children through our Kids Mode, we’ve developed a
solution
which we believe fits the entire family. A few weeks after its
introduction, we
can already see a large number of customers upgrading to the
new plan, and we
look forward to seeing how it progresses throughout 2019 as we
introduce the
plan to markets outside of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and
Iceland,” says
CEO Jonas Tellander.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, the
average number of international
subscribers was 423,500, slightly lower than
the forecast though still in line
with expectations, and representing an
increase of 39,000 paying subscribers
compared to the third quarter of 2018.
International streaming revenue totalled
approximately 151 MSEK during the
fourth quarter of 2018, about one million SEK
lower than forecast. During 2018,
the total number of international subscribers
increased by 182,000.
“During
2018 our annual subscriber growth rate outside of Sweden was 76%, in
line with
our goals. Our international expansion the last few years has been
fairly
aggressive, and during the quarter we launched in two new markets Mexico
and
Bulgaria, all according to our plan of opening in six new markets last
year,”
says CEO Jonas Tellander.
Key numbers for Streaming
Currency:
Q4 2018
thousand SEK Q3
Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2017 2017 2018
2018 2018
Streaming
Total
Revenue 197 881 209 225 222 133 239
139 279 979 291 315
Contribution 27 784 30 277 24 079 25 045
22 063
Profit1
Contribution 14,0% 14,5% 10,8% 10,5%
7,9%
Margin
Paying 503 900 533 400 577 900 621 200 720 900
768 700
Subscribers
ARPU2 131 131 128 128 129
126
(SEK/Month)
Streaming
Sweden
Revenue 113 709 118 038
122 046 125 759 135 986 139 977
Contribution 32 872 38 501 43
067 35 763 40 888
Profit
Contribution 28,9% 32,6% 35,3% 28,4%
30,1%
Margin
Paying 282 300 292 700 305 100 314 700 336 200
345 200
Subscribers
ARPU 134 134 133 133
135 135
(SEK/Month)
Streaming
International3
Revenue 84
172 91 187 100 087 113 380 143 993 151 338
Contribution -5 088
-8 224 -18 988 -10 718 -18 826
Profit
Contribution -6,0% -9,0%
-19,0% -9,5% -13,1%
Margin
Paying 221 600 240 700 272 800 306
500 384 700 423 500
Subscribers
ARPU 127 126
122 123 125 119
(SEK/Month)
1. Contribution Profit is
defined as streaming revenue minus costs for content
(licensed content and
in-house productions) and marketing. Storytel Reader is
not included in
Streaming.
2. ARPU = Average Revenue Per User (Subscriber) per month
3.
Storytel Norway included in figures @ 100%. In the consolidated group
accounts
Norway is reported according to the principle of
proportional
consolidation.
For more information, please contact:
Jonas
Tellander, CEO: +46 70 261 61 36
FNCA Sweden AB is the company’s certified
adviser. FNCA can be reached at
info@fnca.se or 08-528 00 399.
This
information is such information that Storytel AB (publ) is obliged to
make
public in accordance with EU:s market regulation
(marknadsmissbruksförordning).
The information was made public by above contact
person on January 8th, 2018 at
08:15 CET.
About Storytel
The Storytel group
consists of two divisions, Streaming and Publishing. The
Streaming division
currently offers a subscription service for audio books and e
-books under the
brand names Storytel and Mofibo in Sweden, Norway, Denmark,
Finland, Iceland,
The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, India, the United Arab
Emirates,
Turkey, Italy, Mexico and Bulgaria. The Streaming division also
publishes audio
books and Storytel Originals, mainly through the audio-book
publisher
Storyside. The Publishing division consists of the publishers
Norstedts,
Massolit, Printz Publishing, the Danish People’s Press, Storytel
Publishing,
Rabén & Sjögren and B. Wahlströms, as well as Norstedts Kartor.
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