This announcement contains inside information as stipulated
under the UK Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR")
Audioboom Group
plc
("Audioboom", the "Group" or the "Company")
Half-Year
Report
Audioboom (AIM: BOOM), the leading
global podcast company, announces its unaudited half-year results
for the six months ended 30 June 2024.
Financial and operational KPIs
·
H1 revenue of US$34.1 million, up 7% on H1 2023 (US$31.8
million)
·
Adjusted EBITDA(1) profit of US$0.3
million (H1 2023: US$0.3 million) - Q2 represented the third
successive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA
·
Record average quarterly eCPM (revenue per 1,000
downloads) in Q2 of US$60.09, up
38% (Q2 2023: US$43.55). Audioboom continues to maximise the
value it extracts from downloads versus its peers
·
Average Q2 brand advertiser count of 8,062 (Q2
2023: 8,042). Strategic pricing increases in our Showcase
advertising product have limited access to lower-value brands,
continuing our focus on high-quality monetisation
·
Average Q2 global monthly downloads of 94.8
million (Q2 2023: 125.9 million). While Audioboom has added a
number of new tier-1 podcasts to the creator network in the past
year, Apple's iOS17 update in late 2023 has reduced and rebased
download reporting materially across the wider podcast industry -
decreasing by an average of 32% (2). We expect the
impact of the iOS17 update to create more favourable long-term
commercial conditions in the podcast industry due to the increased
levels of return-on-investment that more accurate download data
will deliver to advertisers
·
The Company has in excess of US$65 million revenue for 2024 booked - more than total revenue
for 2023 with more than five months of the year
remaining
·
Group cash at 30 June 2024 of US$3.5 million (31
March 2024: US$3.1 million), with a further US$1.9 million
available via an undrawn overdraft
Commercial highlights
·
Record H1 revenue from Showcase, our global
advertising marketplace, reflecting the Company's continued
progress in building key, scalable advertising technology. H1 2024
Showcase revenue of US$9.3 million, up 37% on H1 2023 (US$6.8 million).
Showcase now contributes more than 27% to Group revenue (H1 2023:
21%)
·
Audioboom consolidated its position as the fifth
largest podcast network in the US on both the Triton Digital Ranker
and the Edison Research Ranker. Since the start of the year
Audioboom has moved from 2.2 million downloads behind the next
ranked network Audacy, to 0.7 million downloads ahead of them in
the June 2024 ranker - highlighting the performance of the Company
relative to our competitors
·
Key contracts renewed with leading podcasts in our
creator network including: The
Broski Report, Serialously, National Park After Dark, Nateland and Minds of Madness. These shows were
downloaded more than 42 million times in H1 2024
·
Further restructuring of creator contracts in this
period has reduced Audioboom's annual minimum guarantee obligations
by more than US$3 million
·
New, top-tier podcasts signed to the Audioboom
Creator Network including: Cancelled with Tana Mongeau,
13th Juror and
Stavvy's World. These
podcasts are expected to contribute more than 4 million monthly
downloads or YouTube views to the network
·
The Board continues to examine opportunities to
maximise shareholder value including, amongst other initiatives,
transactional opportunities and the option of Audioboom also being
publicly listed in the US
1 Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation,
share based payments, non-cash foreign exchange movements, material
one-off items and onerous contract provisions and losses
incurred
2 Podnews analysis of Apple iOS17 impact utilising Triton
Digital download data
Stuart Last, CEO of Audioboom, commented:
"I'm pleased to report that Audioboom has continued to record
positive results, with our third successive quarter of year-on-year
revenue growth and our third successive quarter of adjusted EBITDA
profitability. Our record eCPM - the value that we extract from
every 1,000 downloads across our network - is market-leading, and
highlights the work we have done to optimise our monetisation
engine in order to extract maximum value from our
podcasts.
We
have delivered these results despite the double-whammy of the
advertising market recession now being followed by deep cuts to our
advertising inventory due to Apple's iOS17 update, which changed
how listeners download content. These external impacts are
frustrating - with the iOS17 change restricting our revenue in the
first half of the year by an estimated US$9
million.
Our revenue growth for H1 is in line with the Interactive
Advertising Bureau's Podcast Revenue Study forecasts for the
industry, and we do expect our growth rate to substantially improve
across the second half of the year. We have more than US$65 million
of advertising bookings in place - the same level as the entirety
of last year's revenue - which means, with more than 5 months of
the year remaining, all future bookings will translate directly to
growth.
Showcase - our ad-tech driven marketplace - continues to build
impressively. In June we delivered more than US$2 million of
revenue through the product for the first time, and it now
contributes more than 27% of our Group revenue. This performance is
fuelled by our technology innovation as well as the early-stage
work of our recently launched brand awareness sales
unit.
I'm pleased to welcome hit shows like
Cancelled and Stavvy's World to the Audioboom Creator Network, while we
have also continued to build-out our political programming ahead of
the US election - in the coming months podcasts like The
Bulwark, Hacks on Tap
and The Politics War Room
will play an important role in
guiding listeners through the campaign season.
I
remain extremely optimistic about our future, and believe that the
Company continues to be significantly undervalued. As such the
Board are actively working to understand the benefits and
requirements of listing Audioboom in the US in order to increase
the valuation of the business, as well as assessing transactional
opportunities to give the Company greater scale. I would like to
express my appreciation to the Audioboom team for building our
business so efficiently, and to thank shareholders for their
continued support and belief in the future of the
Company."
Enquiries
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Audioboom Group plc
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Stuart Last, Chief Executive
Officer
Brad Clarke, Chief Financial
Officer
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Tel:
+44(0)20 3714 4285
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Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd (Nominated Adviser and
Broker)
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Jonny Franklin-Adams/Abigail
Kelly/Rory Sale (Corporate Finance)
Harriet Ward (ECM)
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Tel: +44(0)20 7220 0500
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About Audioboom
Audioboom is a global leader in
podcasting - our shows are downloaded 100 million times each month
by 38 million unique listeners around the world. Audioboom is
ranked as the fifth largest podcast publisher in the US by Triton
Digital.
Audioboom's ad-tech and monetisation
platform underpins a scalable content business that provides
commercial, distribution, marketing and production services for a
premium network of top tier podcasts. Key partners include the
official Formula 1 podcasts 'F1: Beyond the Grid' and 'F1 Nation',
'Casefile True Crime' (US), 'True Crime Obsessed' (US), 'The Tim
Dillon Show' (US), 'No Such Thing As A Fish' (UK) and 'The Cycling
Podcast' (UK).
Audioboom operates internationally,
with global partnerships across North America, Europe, Asia and
Australia. The platform distributes content via Apple Podcasts,
YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts,
iHeartRadio, Facebook and Twitter as well as a partner's own
websites and mobile apps.
For more information, visit
audioboom.com.
Chief Executive's Report
Strategy and Business
Model
Audioboom powers podcasting -
connecting creators, brands and audience to create value across the
industry. Since 2018 we have generated more than US$250 million in
revenue for our podcast creators and helped thousands of brands
deliver more than US$300 million of advertising
campaigns.
Creators are the heartbeat of the
platform. Our technology enables more than 8,000 podcasters to
manage their content publishing process, grow their audience,
distribute to all major listening apps, and see insights into the
consumption of their content with our data and analytics
dashboard.
Brands can access unique advertising
options, including the Premium Network, our high-value product in
which the host of the podcast delivers campaign messages for the
brand and endorses the product directly to their engaged audience.
Showcase - our highly automated marketplace - enables brands to
pinpoint their target audience at scale and with great efficiency
through our ad-tech stack, while Sonic - our platform for brands -
helps advertisers develop and execute campaigns across the podcast
landscape.
Audioboom delivers strong global
scale, with monthly downloads of around 100 million. More than 38
million unique users consume content from Audioboom each month, and
in 2024 we will create around 15 billion available advertising
impressions.
Audioboom is the fifth largest
podcast publisher in the US - the world's largest podcast market -
on Edison Research's publisher ranker. We also rank third in
Australia, second in New Zealand and fourth in Canada.
A global advertising recession
emerged in 2022 and lasted across 2023, creating extremely
challenging operating conditions. To combat this, we launched an
in-house team focused on developing partnerships with 'brand
awareness' advertisers to diversify our customer base and ensure we
were less reliant on the traditional podcast advertisers who are
susceptible to weaker economic conditions. This unit has seen
excellent early traction, with new partnerships beginning with blue
chip brands from 10 of the world's largest 15 advertising
agencies.
This traction has flowed into the
continued success story of Showcase, our advertising marketplace,
where these blue chip brands can execute their advertising
campaigns efficiently and at scale through our advertising
technology. During H1 2024, Showcase contributed 27% of Group
revenue (up from 21% in H1 2023 and 12% in H1 2022). In June 2024
Showcase delivered record monthly revenue of US$2.2
million.
In H1 2024 we have experienced our
second external challenge of recent times. In late 2023 Apple
updated their podcast listening app in the iOS17 release which
changed the way users downloaded content. With this change, the
Apple podcast app - which historically has contributed around 40%
of total podcast consumption - no longer automatically downloaded
newly released episodes from podcast channels that the user had not
listened to recently. This eroded consumption measurement across
the entire podcast industry by approximately 32% according to a
Podnews analysis. At Audioboom we have seen net downloads decrease
in our network by around 23%, which restricted our revenue growth
materially but were pleased to have been less affected overall in
comparison to the industry. We are working hard to reverse the
impact of Apple's iOS17 change through the signing of top tier
shows. During H1 2024 we added podcasts including: Cancelled, The 13th Juror,
Stavvy's World,
Basically Unfiltered,
Soder and George Conway Explains It
All.
Financial
Review
Group revenue in the first half of
2024 increased by 7% year on year to US$34.1 million (H1 2023:
US31.8 million) with Q2 2024 representing our third successive
quarter of year-on-year revenue growth. Adjusted EBITDA profit
(earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share
based payments, non-foreign exchange movements, material one off
items and onerous contract provisions and losses incurred) was
US$0.3 million (H1 2023: US$0.3 million), with Q2 representing the
third successive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. The total
loss before tax in the first half of 2024 decreased by US$9.3
million to a loss before tax of US$1.3 million (H1 2023: US$10.6
million loss before tax) with the prior year loss before tax being
driven by the recognition of an onerous contract provision and the
onerous contract net loss in the first half of 2023.
As detailed further in Note 9, an
onerous contract provision was created in relation to two specific
partner contracts in the prior period. The ad rates that have been
commanded, and the future ad rates that are likely to be commanded,
are lower than those modelled when the contracts were signed in
early 2022 due to advertising markets being more challenging for
longer than anticipated. In light of revenue growth being lower
than projected it is now assumed that it is unavoidable that the
contracts will generate a net loss through to their conclusion in
January 2025 and December 2025 respectively. The contracts recorded
a net loss of US$2.6 million in H1 2024 and this loss was offset by
the provision created in the prior period. The provision held
on the balance sheet for future estimated net losses of the two
contracts is US$4.9 million.
Group gross margin, excluding the
impact of onerous contracts, improved to 18% (2023: 17%) due to the
reduced impact of the Company utilising its share of advertising
revenue to satisfy a small number of podcaster minimum guarantees.
The Company continued to control overheads very well during the
first six months of 2024 despite inflationary pressures, with the
Company maintaining opex (excluding interest, tax, depreciation,
amortisation, share based payments, non-cash foreign exchange
movements and material one-off items) of US$5.4 million (H1 2023:
US$5.4 million). Average headcount increased to 42 (30 June 2023:
39) due to the Company investing in its sales operation to drive
increased revenue performance. Total salary and commission costs
increased by 14% (US$0.3 million) vs H1 2023 to US$3.4 million.
This increase was offset due to savings across all other cost
categories, with the main reduction occurring within technology
costs, with hosting and bandwidth costs decreasing by US$0.2
million to US$1.3 million due to the impact of iOS17.
Cash collections continue to perform
well thanks to our efficient internal processes and good
relationships with our customers. We report a debtor day
figure of 71, in line with 30 June 2023 (72) and lower than 31
December 2023 (81). Total cash collected in H1 2023 of US$35.4
million was 104% of revenue reported and US$2.5 million higher than
H1 2023 (US$32.9 million). Operating cash outflow, before working
capital movements, totalled US$3.1 million (H1 2023: US$1.3 million
cash outflow) largely due to the impact of the contract net loss
provision as detailed in note 9 (US$2.6 million). Cash held at 30
June 2024 of US$3.5 million increased by US$0.4 million from 31
March 2024 and decreased by US$0.2 million from 31 December 2023
(US$3.7 million). The US$1.9 million overdraft with HSBC was
renewed in H1 2024 and remained undrawn at 30 June 2024, giving the
Company access to capital of US$5.4 million at the period
end.
Outlook
Q2 2024 was our third successive
quarter of revenue growth against prior comparable periods and
adjusted EBITDA profit, and it highlights how well the business has
recovered from the global advertising recession of 2022-23.
Unfortunately, that recovery has been restricted by a new external
impact - the changes Apple made to their podcast player in the most
recent iOS update. This change reduced download measurement across
the podcast industry and restricted our revenue in H1 2024 by an
estimated US$9 million.
Although the Apple change will
continue to limit our performance upside, we do expect our growth
rate to significantly accelerate in Q3 2024 and beyond.
We have made progress in a number of
key operational areas that have improved our business and resulted
in record e-CPM during the last quarter of more than US$60 - this
is a measure of how much value we create from every 1000 downloads
on our network. Our work to widen our customer base and attract
robust, reliable brands is working well. Showcase, our global ad
marketplace, goes from strength to strength - now contributing more
than 27% of Group revenue - and we continue to sign new top tier
podcasts to expand our network.
While frustrated that our work has
been made more challenging by a second external issue that is out
of our control, we do believe that our positive momentum will
continue, and we are well placed to strengthen our position as the
biggest independent podcast network globally. Additionally, we are
now actively investigating the opportunity for Audioboom to be
publicly listed in the US as the Board believes the Company
continues to be under-valued and this route will create a fairer
reflection of value for shareholders.
Stuart Last
Chief Executive Officer
Audioboom Group PLC
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
|
|
|
Unaudited as at 30 June
2024
|
|
Unaudited
as at 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited as
at
31
Dec 2023
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|
|
Notes
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
|
29
|
|
38
|
|
30
|
|
Right of use asset
|
|
1,017
|
|
205
|
|
1,117
|
|
Deferred tax asset
|
|
1,571
|
|
3,770
|
|
1,581
|
|
|
|
2,617
|
|
4,013
|
|
2,728
|
|
Current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
5
|
14,938
|
|
15,579
|
|
16,328
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
3,456
|
|
5,297
|
|
3,726
|
|
Deferred tax asset
|
|
392
|
|
840
|
|
395
|
|
|
|
18,786
|
|
21,716
|
|
20,449
|
|
TOTAL ASSETS
|
|
21,403
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|
25,729
|
|
23,177
|
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
6
|
(13,940)
|
|
(9,075)
|
|
(12,399)
|
|
Onerous contract
provision
|
9
|
(3,682)
|
|
(3,386)
|
|
(5,046)
|
|
Lease liability
|
6
|
(78)
|
|
(220)
|
|
(68)
|
|
NET
CURRENT ASSETS
|
|
1,086
|
|
9,035
|
|
2,936
|
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lease liability
|
6
|
(981)
|
|
-
|
|
(1,042)
|
|
Onerous contract
provision
|
9
|
(1,200)
|
|
(3,703)
|
|
(2,543)
|
|
NET
ASSETS
|
|
1,521
|
|
9,345
|
|
2,169
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
Share premium
|
4
|
63,104
|
|
63,104
|
|
63,104
|
|
Issue cost reserve
|
|
(2,048)
|
|
(2,048)
|
|
(2,048)
|
|
Foreign exchange translation
reserve
|
|
(1,719)
|
|
(1,661)
|
|
(1,426)
|
|
Reverse acquisition
reserve
|
|
(3,380)
|
|
(3,380)
|
|
(3,380)
|
|
Retained earnings
|
|
(54,436)
|
|
(46,670)
|
|
(54,081)
|
|
TOTAL EQUITY
|
|
1,521
|
|
9,345
|
|
2,169
|
Audioboom Group PLC
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Loss from operations
|
|
(1,349)
|
|
(10,611)
|
|
(19,426)
|
|
Adjustments for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax charge
|
|
8
|
|
2
|
|
2,672
|
|
Interest payable
|
|
85
|
|
43
|
|
119
|
|
Interest received
|
|
(12)
|
|
-
|
|
(16)
|
|
Depreciation of fixed
assets
|
|
13
|
|
19
|
|
33
|
|
Depreciation of right of use
assets
|
|
57
|
|
-
|
|
239
|
|
Share based payments
|
|
994
|
|
1,403
|
|
2,807
|
|
(Decrease) / Increase in partner
contract provision
|
|
(2,617)
|
|
7,090
|
|
7,499
|
|
Foreign exchange (loss) /
gain
|
|
(264)
|
|
725
|
|
831
|
|
Cash used in operating activities before working capital
movements
|
|
(3,085)
|
|
(1,329)
|
|
(5,242)
|
|
Decrease / (increase) in trade and
other receivables
|
|
1,391
|
|
433
|
|
(316)
|
|
Increase / (decrease) in trade and
other payables
|
|
1,539
|
|
(1,894)
|
|
1,387
|
|
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
|
(155)
|
|
(2,790)
|
|
(4,171)
|
|
Investing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase of property, plant and
equipment
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
(7)
|
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
(7)
|
|
Financing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Principal lease payments
|
|
(115)
|
|
(182)
|
|
(365)
|
|
Proceeds from issue of ordinary
share capital
|
|
-
|
|
202
|
|
202
|
|
Net
cash (used in) / generated from financing
activities
|
|
(115)
|
|
20
|
|
(163)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
decrease in cash and cash equivalents
|
(270)
|
|
(2,770)
|
|
(4,341)
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents at
beginning of period
|
3,726
|
|
8,067
|
|
8,067
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
3,456
|
|
5,297
|
|
3,726
|
Audioboom Group PLC
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
|
|
Share
premium
|
Other
reserves*
|
Retained
earnings
|
Total
equity
|
|
|
US$'000
|
US$'000
|
US$'000
|
US$'000
|
|
At
31 December 2022
|
62,902
|
(7,930)
|
(37,462)
|
17,510
|
|
Loss for the period
|
-
|
-
|
(10,611)
|
(10,611)
|
|
Issue of shares
|
202
|
-
|
-
|
202
|
|
Equity-settled share-based
payments
|
-
|
-
|
1,403
|
1,403
|
|
Foreign exchange loss on
translation
of overseas subsidiaries
|
-
|
841
|
-
|
841
|
|
At
30 June 2023
|
63,104
|
(7,089)
|
(46,670)
|
9,345
|
|
Loss for the period
|
-
|
-
|
(8,815)
|
(8,815)
|
|
Equity-settled share-based
payments
|
-
|
-
|
1,404
|
1,404
|
|
Foreign exchange loss on
translation
of overseas subsidiaries
|
-
|
235
|
-
|
235
|
|
At
31 December 2023
|
63,104
|
(6,854)
|
(54,081)
|
2,169
|
|
Loss for the period
|
-
|
-
|
(1,349)
|
(1,349)
|
|
Issue of shares
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Equity-settled share-based
payments
|
-
|
-
|
994
|
994
|
|
Foreign exchange loss on
translation
of overseas subsidiaries
|
-
|
(293)
|
-
|
(293)
|
|
At
30 June 2024
|
63,104
|
(7,147)
|
(54,436)
|
1,521
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*Other reserves relate to the following reserves: Issue Cost
Reserve, Foreign Exchange Translation Reserve and the Reverse
Acquisition Reserve. Full details are disclosed in the 2023 Annual
Report.
Audioboom Group plc
Notes to the financial statements
1.
General information and basis of preparation
Audioboom Group plc is incorporated
in Jersey under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991. The Company's
ordinary shares of no par value are traded on AIM, a market
operated by the London Stock Exchange.
These consolidated interim financial
statements, which are unaudited, have been approved by the Board of
Directors on 22 July 2024. They have been drawn up using the
accounting policies and the basis of presentation expected to be
adopted in the Group's full financial statements for the year
ending 31 December 2024, which are not expected to be significantly
different to those set out in note 1 to the Company's audited
financial statements for the year ending 31 December
2023.
The consolidated interim financial
statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention
and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
("IFRS") and with IAS 34 "Interim financial reporting", as adopted
by the UK.
The preparation of financial
statements in accordance with IFRS requires the use of estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as
at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of
revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Those estimates
and assumptions are consistent with those as reported in the
Company's audited financial statements for the year ending 31
December 2023.
Going concern
These interim financial statements
have been prepared on the going concern basis, which assumes that
the Group will have sufficient funds to continue in operational
existence for at least twelve months from the date of approval of
these interim financial statements. The Group ended the period with
access to US$3.4 million of cash, and a US$1.9 million HSBC
overdraft remaining available to draw down. The overdraft is
subject to an annual renewal process and has been renewed through
to 30 May 2025. The Board believes that it would be able to obtain
alternative financing options that can be called upon, if required.
The Board's forecasts for the Group, including due consideration of
the business forecasting continuing positive adjusted EBITDA in
2024, projected increase in revenues and cash utilisation of the
Group and taking account of reasonable possible changes in trading
performance, including changes outside of expected trading
performance and the impact of missed partner minimum guarantees,
indicate that the Group will have sufficient cash and financing
facilities available to continue in operational existence for the
next twelve months from the date of approval of these interim
financial statements and beyond. This includes considering those
partner contracts that have minimum guarantees attached to them and
assessing whether there will be any adverse effect should there be
prolonged adverse trading performance. Based on the Board's
forecasts, the Group considers that it will not require additional
funding for the foreseeable future for the purposes of meeting its
liabilities as and when they fall due. The Board believes that the
Group is well placed to manage its business risks, and longer-term
strategic objectives, successfully.
Management has carried out
sensitivity analyses of the Group's cash flow models to assess the
impact of a range of possible outcomes, including lower than
anticipated revenues, and the mitigations that the Group has
available to it, including a reduction in overhead costs, active
working capital management and the availability of the HSBC
overdraft. Accordingly, the Directors are satisfied that the Group
will continue to be able to meet its ongoing liabilities as and
when they fall due in reasonably foreseeable
circumstances.
Therefore, the Directors consider
the going concern basis of preparation of these interim financial
statements appropriate.
2.
Revenue
The Group's operations are
principally located in the UK and the USA. The Group's revenue from
external customers by geographical location is detailed
below:
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
United Kingdom and Rest of the
World
|
|
892
|
|
963
|
|
1,772
|
|
USA
|
|
33,228
|
|
30,845
|
|
63,258
|
|
Total
|
|
34,120
|
|
31,808
|
|
65,030
|
3.
Loss per share
Basic earnings per share (EPS) is
calculated by dividing the profit or loss attributable to
shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in
issue during the period.
IAS 33 requires presentation of
diluted EPS when a company could be called upon to issue shares
that would decrease earnings per share, or increase the loss per
share. For a loss-making company with outstanding share options,
net loss per share would be decreased by the exercise of share
options. Therefore, for the periods ending 30 June 2024, 31
December 2023 and 30 June 2023, as per IAS 33:36, the anti-dilutive
potential ordinary shares are disregarded on the calculation of
diluted EPS.
Reconciliation of the loss and
weighted average number of ordinary shares used in the calculation
are set out below:
|
|
30 June
2024
|
|
|
Loss
|
|
Weighted
average number of shares
|
|
Per share
amount
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Thousand
|
|
Cents
|
|
Basic and diluted EPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss attributable to equity
shareholders
|
(1,349)
|
|
16,377
|
|
(8.2)
|
|
|
30 June
2023
|
|
|
Profit
|
|
Weighted
average number of shares
|
|
Per share
amount
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Thousand
|
|
Cents
|
|
Basic and diluted EPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss attributable to equity
shareholders
|
(10,611)
|
|
16,357
|
|
(64.9)
|
|
|
31
December 2023
|
|
|
Loss
|
|
Weighted
average number of shares
|
|
Per share
amount
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Thousand
|
|
Cents
|
|
Basic and diluted EPS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss attributable to equity
shareholders
|
(19,426)
|
|
16,357
|
|
(118.8)
|
4.
Share capital
Issued and fully paid - ordinary
shares of no par value
|
At 30 June 2024
|
16,376,936
|
|
At 30 June 2023
|
16,376,936
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2023
|
16,376,936
|
During the period no new ordinary
shares were issued.
The total number of instruments over
equity (including both share options and warrants) outstanding at
the period end was 1,740,617 and, of these, 1,203,349 had vested at
the period end.
5.
Trade and other
receivables
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Amounts receivable for the sale of
goods and services
|
|
13,286
|
|
12,547
|
|
14,504
|
|
Allowance for doubtful
debts
|
|
(96)
|
|
(209)
|
|
(149)
|
|
Net receivables
|
|
13,190
|
|
12,338
|
|
14,355
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred cost of sales relating to
minimum guarantee payments
|
|
-
|
|
382
|
|
-
|
|
Other receivables
|
|
142
|
|
241
|
|
246
|
|
Prepayments and accrued
income
|
|
1,507
|
|
2,533
|
|
1,626
|
|
Taxes recoverable
|
|
99
|
|
85
|
|
101
|
|
Total
|
|
14,938
|
|
15,579
|
|
16,328
|
The average credit period taken on
sales of goods and services is 71 days (30 June 2023: 72; 31
December 2023: 81). Accrued income carried forward that will fully
reverse is US$0.5 million (30 June 2023: US$0.4 million; 31
December 2023: US$0.4 million).
6.
Trade
and other payables
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade payables
|
|
11,558
|
|
7,577
|
|
9,156
|
|
Other taxes and social
security
|
|
42
|
|
31
|
|
29
|
|
Accruals
|
|
2,298
|
|
1,392
|
|
3,144
|
|
Other payables
|
|
42
|
|
75
|
|
70
|
|
Trade and other payables due within one year
|
|
13,940
|
|
9,075
|
|
12,399
|
Trade payables and accruals
principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and
ongoing costs. The average credit period taken for trade purchases
is 72 days (30 June 2023: 51; 31 December 2023: 68 days). The
Company currently accrues all costs based on contract terms.
Payables relating to leases total US$0.1 million which is due in
under one year.
7.
Related party transactions
During the period, there were no
related party transactions.
8.
Share
based payments
During the period, 515,157 share
options were issued to qualifying current employees with an
exercise price of £2.40 per share. The options granted were largely
in replacement of 391,157 options that were previously granted at
an exercise price of £15.55 per share which have now been forfeited
and cancelled.
9.
Contract provision and costs
A provision was recognised in the
prior year in relation to two partner contracts. As advertising
markets have performed below the expectations previously modelled
for these agreements, it is now assumed that it is unavoidable that
the contracts will generate a loss through to their conclusion in
January 2025 and December 2025 respectively. The contracts, which
were both negotiated in early 2022 during buoyant podcast
advertising market conditions, recorded a net loss of US$2.6
million in H1 2024 and in light of revenue growth being lower than
projected at the previous reporting date it is considered likely
that they will continue to be loss making through to their
conclusion.
A provision was therefore created
for the estimated total contract loss with the trigger point being
future revenue and growth assumptions for the shows being lowered
due to the advertising markets being more challenging for longer
than anticipated. Consequently, the ad rates that have been, and
are likely to be, commanded for the contract are likely to be lower
than those previously assumed.
In estimating the potential net loss
of the contracts, high, medium and low growth projections have been
used to estimate the total net loss of the contracts. The provision
has been recognised as, even under the high growth scenario, it is
estimated that the contracts will incur a net loss due to
insufficient time and opportunity to derive sufficient revenue
growth for the contracts to generate a profit before their
expiration in January 2025 and December 2025 respectively. A
weighted average of the different growth scenarios has been used as
the performance of future advertising markets and the specific
shows can only be estimated at the balance sheet
date.
It has been deemed appropriate to
disaggregate the revenue, net loss and provided for projected net
loss of these contracts within the consolidated statement of
comprehensive income in order to detail revenue and gross margin
which reflects the performance of the underlying business. No
overheads or other costs have been included in the provision
assessment because the main cost of the contract is the revenue
share owed to the partner.
The following are the amounts
recognised in the statement of comprehensive income:
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Onerous contracts net loss
incurred
|
|
2,616
|
|
1,823
|
|
5,087
|
|
Onerous contracts provision for
expected future net
losses
|
|
-
|
|
7,090
|
|
7,499
|
|
Onerous contracts provision
release
|
|
(2,616)
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
Total
|
|
-
|
|
8,913
|
|
12,586
|
The following are the total value of
the provision which has been calculated on a weighted average basis
based on a range of scenarios then discounted to detail the net
present value of the provision:
|
|
|
Unaudited six months to 30
June 2024
|
|
Unaudited
six months to 30 June 2023
|
|
Audited 12
months to 31 Dec 2023
|
|
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
US$'000
|
|
Current contract
provision
|
|
3,682
|
|
3,386
|
|
5,046
|
|
Non-current contract
provision
|
|
1,200
|
|
3,703
|
|
2,453
|
|
Total
|
|
4,882
|
|
7,090
|
|
7,499
|
ENDS