- Streaming sales up 19 % from Q4 2019 to 503 (421) MSEK, +26% with fixed Fx rates.
- Subscriber base up 33% from Q4 2019 to 1,442,000 (1,083,400) on average.
- Net turnover increased to 663 MSEK from 565 MSEK in Q4 2019.
- Earnings per share, after taxes amounted to -1.05 SEK, before and after dilution, compared to -1.43 SEK in Q4 2019.
- The Board of Directors proposes no dividend to be paid for FY 2020.
- Launched in Belgium and Thailand.
- Acquired iCast Ltd, an audiobook streaming pioneer on the Israeli market.
Table 1: Key performance indicators for Streaming and Print Publishing
| Currency: SEK 000’s | Q4 2019 | Q1 2020 | Q2 2020 | Q3 2020 | Q4 2020 | Q1 2021 |
| Streaming Total | Actual8 | Forecast1 | ||||
| Revenue | 421,454 | 429,251 | 459,115 | 490,234 | 503,449 | 514,000 |
| Contribution Profit2,8 | 58,977 | 92,611 | 100,493 | 113,663 | 107,074 | |
| Contribution Margin | 14.0% | 21.6% | 21.9% | 23.2% | 21.3% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers3 | 1,083,400 | 1,154,800 | 1,257,000 | 1,360,300 | 1,442,000 | 1,542,000 |
| ARPU4 (SEK/Month) | 130 | 124 | 122 | 120 | 116 | 111 |
| Streaming Nordics5 | ||||||
| Revenue | 352,222 | 349,768 | 366,322 | 394,453 | 399,639 | 399,000 |
| Contribution Profit2,8 | 115,689 | 113,476 | 107,176 | 125,534 | 134,166 | |
| Contribution Margin | 32.8% | 32.4% | 29.3% | 31.8% | 33.6% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers3 | 757,600 | 785,800 | 833,300 | 902,000 | 926,000 | 954,000 |
| ARPU4 (SEK/Month) | 155 | 148 | 147 | 146 | 144 | 139 |
| Streaming Non-Nordics | ||||||
| Revenue | 69,233 | 79,484 | 92,793 | 95,781 | 103,810 | 115,000 |
| Contribution Profit2,8 | -56,713 | -20,866 | -6,684 | -11,872 | -27,092 | |
| Contribution Margin | -81.9% | -26.3% | -7.2% | -12.4% | -26.1% | |
| Avg. Paying Subscribers3 | 325,800 | 369,000 | 423,700 | 458,300 | 516,000 | 588,000 |
| ARPU4 (SEK/Month) | 71 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 65 |
| Print Publishing6 | ||||||
| Revenue | 179,562 | 114,737 | 126,743 | 150,391 | 197,346 | |
| Contribution Profit7 | 65,592 | 41,678 | 44,147 | 63,667 | 81,774 | |
| Contribution Margin | 36.5% | 36.3% | 34.8% | 42.3% | 41.4% |
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1. Forecast means an approximation based on information available at the time the report was prepared.
2. Contribution Profit is defined as streaming revenue minus royalties to third-party publishers and rights holders, external production costs, transaction/payment costs and marketing costs. Storytel Reader and Ztory are not included in Streaming.
3. Avg. Paying Subscribers means the average number of paying Storytel subscribers during the quarter. Stand-alone customers from Ztory are not included. For Family subscriptions, each standard stream (not so-called Kids Mode) is considered one paying customer.
4. ARPU = Average Revenue Per User (Subscriber) per month.
5. Storytel Norway is included in the figures @ 100%. In the consolidated accounts, Norway is reported in accordance with the principle of proportional consolidation.
6. Print Publishing refers to physical books and digital sales through channels other than Storytel. Internal revenue from Storytel has been eliminated. All publishing houses both inside and outside of Sweden are included.
7. Contribution Profit is defined as revenue minus cost of goods sold, royalties to rights holders, distribution, sales and marketing costs.
8. Storytel has chosen to voluntarily apply the capitalisation model instead of the expensing model regarding internally developed intangible assets. In this table, the development of our digital catalogue has been capitalised and no longer treated as an expense as of Q1 2020.
Guidance for Q1 2021 and FY 2021
Q1 2021 guidance – Streaming segment
Avg. subscribers Nordics: 954,000
Avg. subscribers Non-Nordics: 588,000
Avg. subscribers Total: 1,542,000
Revenue Nordics: 399,000
Revenue Non-Nordics: 115,000
Revenue Total: 514,000
FY 2021 guidance
Subscribers EoY: 2,100,000–2,200,000
Streaming revenues: 2.4–2.5 BSEK
Group EBITDA margin: negative 0–5%
Forthcoming reports
Annual Report 2020: 1 April 2021
Interim Report Jan – Mar 2021: 7 May 2021
Interim Report Jan – June 2021: 6 Aug 2021
Interim Report Jan – Sept 2021: 5 Nov 2021
Annual general meeting of shareholders
The annual general meeting of shareholders will be held in Stockholm on 4 May, 2021. More details about time and location will be published on Storytels website closer to the event. The annual report will be published on the company’s investor relations website on 1 April, 2021.
FNCA Sweden AB is the company’s certified adviser. FNCA can be reached at info@fnca.se or +46 8 528 00 399.
Stockholm, 19 February 2021
Board of Directors Storytel AB (publ)
For more information, please contact:
Jonas Tellander, CEO: +46 70 261 61 36
Sofie Zettergren, CFO: +46 70 509 98 08
Dan Panas, Head of Communications: +46 70 186 52 90
This disclosure contains information that Storytel is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, Cision.
About Storytel
Storytel is one of the world’s largest subscribed audiobook and e-book streaming services and offers listening and reading of more than 500 000 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. Storytel’s streaming business is conducted under the brands Storytel and Mofibo. Storytel’s publishing business area is carried out through the audiobook publisher StorySide and acclaimed Nordic publishing houses such as Norstedts, People’s and Gummerus. Storytel operates in over 20 markets around the globe and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.