Fourth quarter 2021 (Q4 2020)

• Strong net sales growth of 40% (95%) and record quarterly net sales of SEK 336.5 million (239.9)
• Organic net sales growth of 35% (117%) when adjusting for FX
• Gross margin at a healthy 36% (39%)
• Adj. EBITDA margin reached -8% (-3%)
• Adj. EBITDA of SEK -28.2 million (-6.6)
• Operating loss of SEK -39.5 million (-13.0)
• Net loss for the period impacted by positive FX and amounting to SEK -25.3 million (-28.1)
• Positive cash flow from operating activities of SEK 27.6 million (-54.7)
• Basic and diluted earnings per share for the period of SEK -0.14 (-0.21)
• Listens reached 1,091 million (863) and ARPL improved to SEK 0.31 (0.28)

Full year 2021 (Full year 2020)

• Strong net sales growth of 73% (64%) and record net sales of SEK 1,026 million (592)
• Organic net sales growth of 74% (69%) when adjusting for FX
• Gross margin at a steady 36% (37%)
• Adj. EBITDA margin improved to -15% (-21%)
• Adj. EBITDA of SEK -150 million (-123)
• Operating loss of SEK -222 million (-149) includes IPO related costs of SEK 35 million
• Net loss for the period of SEK -300 million (-172) impacted by the repayment of EIB quasi-equity instrument and negative FX
• Significant improvement of cash flow from operating activities of SEK -107 million (-189)
• Basic and diluted earnings per share for the period of SEK -1.91 (-1.36)
• Listens reached 3,735 million (2,976) and ARPL improved to SEK 0.27 (0.20)

Significant events in the fourth quarter of 2021

• Number of shows reached 40,000 during the quarter, as key podcasts such as Sex with Emily and Flashback Forever joined Acast
• Acast re-signed a three-year contract with the BBC for monetization of international listens
• Acast partnered with Samsung as one of the inaugural partners for Samsung Free, their new one-click podcast app
• Following the end of the quarter Acast announced that a top UK show Sh**ged. Married.Annoyed renewed its contract with Acast for three years.
• After the end of the quarter the beta test of Acast+ finished successfully and the product was made available to all podcasters

Significant events during the full year 2021

• Completed the acquisition of assets in the US podcasting company RadioPublic, aiming to further strengthen the relationship between podcasters and listeners
• Concluded an Initial Public Offering on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market and strengthened the balance sheet with SEK 1.2 Bn in primary proceeds from a new share issue
• Repaid European Investment Bank (EIB) quasi-equity instrument
• Launched beta version of Acast+, which brought new monetization options to podcasters, including the ability to offer ad-free streams, bonus content and more to paying subscribers
• Re-signed a three year contract with the BBC for monetization of international listens
• Two markets: UK and for the first time Sweden, became profitable
• A range of shows joined an existing strong network at Acast taking the total show count to over 40,000 including names such as the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, TED, Crooked Media and Dagens Industri

Comments from the CEO: One billion listens

With both Q4 and 2021 now closed, Acast’s position of strength is clear. Net sales increased by 73% compared to 2020 and reached over SEK one billion and for the first time in a single quarter we recorded more than one billion listens for our network of podcasts. All whilst making tangible progress on scalability and improving our operating margin compared with the previous year.

2021 delivers both growth and profits in key markets

The open podcasting ecosystem continues to deliver, both in terms of increased revenue and the number of creators taking advantage of Acast’s offering – as well as the number of people listening to their podcasts. Our B2B network of podcasts has grown to 40,000 shows, which generated more than 3.7 billion listens in 2021 across hundreds of different podcast listening apps and platforms. Despite our strong growth, we believe there is still plenty of room to continue our journey. This is especially true in our important markets in North America. In the US – the continent’s single largest market – we grew by 60% in 2021. When comparing against the independent analysis service Podtrac, Acast is now the third largest podcast company in the US measured by reach and largest in the US, in terms of global listens in Q4. In the UK and Sweden we saw fantastic growth - 68% and 74% respectively which led to delivering local profits (CBIT) and profitability after allocation of global costs (operating profit) for the full year. I am equally as happy about the US delivering local profits (CBIT) for the first time, providing further strong support for the financial sustainability of our business model. As we expand the number of shows and listens, the advertising market for podcasts continues to grow in kind — and is expected to only increase as the podcasting medium continues to mature.

There is much to be proud of when it comes to our growth and financial results but looking back, the business did so much more during 2021. In Q1 we concluded the acquisition of Radiopublic, in Q2 we delivered a company listing on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market and paid back a quasi-equity loan. We beta-tested our new subscriptions product Acast+ with great success and partnered with Samsung as they launched Samsung Free, their one-click podcast app. All done by a rock-solid team of exceptional Acasters.

A strong finish to the year

When looking at the fourth quarter, net sales growth was 40% generating record net sales. Our growth is particularly impressive when considering that, during Q4 2020, we saw unusually strong growth due to Covid-19 and the following recovery in the advertising market.

Average revenue per listen (ARPL) in Q4 2021 increased to 0.31 SEK, compared to 0.28 SEK for the same period in 2020. The higher this earning rate, the more money we can pass on to our podcasters – which means we can remain an attractive partner for creators.

Podcast giants join Acast

We continued to attract the biggest and best podcasters throughout Q4. In October, one of Sweden’s largest comedy podcasts, Flashback Forever, and one of the world’s largest sex and relations podcasts, Sex with Emily, which reaches millions of listeners every month, joined us. After the end of the quarter, we also announced that Anna Faris – one of the US’s biggest podcasters – and Framgångspodden – one of the few Swedish top 10 podcasts not already with us – have both joined us. For these podcast giants to continue to choose Acast, alongside companies like the BBC, Financial Times and other big names, demonstrates once again the great support for our creator-first strategy and our belief in open podcasting.

Enhanced offer to advertisers

As we grow, we are also enhancing our offering to advertisers. We see a healthy mix of different types of ads in our podcasts. Regular audio ads targeting specific customer groups, no matter what podcast they listen to, are complemented by host-read native ads, to achieve great reach while creating engagement with listeners. At the same time, our programmatic sales are growing rapidly, a trend which will continue in 2022. Improving our ad offering is continuous and important work which results in advertisers allocating a bigger part of their ad-spend towards podcasting over time.

Acast+ now open to all creators

At the beginning of 2022, we also made Acast+ available to all creators hosted by Acast – giving them the option to offer paid subscriptions directly to their listeners, complementing advertising revenues. Acast+ is an important piece of our future growth as it adds a new revenue stream from subscriptions. The data we generate with the help of Acast+ is also valuable in our continued efforts to deliver more targeted campaigns for advertisers. In 2021, Acast+ was beta tested in eight different markets, with strong results as tens of thousands of listeners became subscribers. Acast will in the future assimilate approximately 15% of revenue from each listener contribution through Acast+, which will be reported net.

Onwards and upwards

After a strong 2021 with more than one billion SEK in net sales and 73% net sales growth, we are now taking on 2022 in full force. We will continue our work to attract the best podcast creators as the podcast market increases. As a company, we have all the prerequisites to deliver on our financial targets for both revenue growth and gross margin, as well as to reach profitability within three-to five years. We maintain the conviction that our model and strategy is the best, most profitable and most sustainable way forward, and I look forward to a strong 2022.

Ross Adams
Chief Executive Officer

Report presentation

CEO Ross Adams and CFO Emily Villatte will present the report in a conference call and webcast today 11 February at 10:00 CET. The presentation will be held in English and will be concluded with a Q&A session.

Link to the presentation: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/acast-q4-report-2021

Telephone numbers for the conference call:
Sweden: +46850558351

UK: +443333009034

USA: +16319131422
USA PIN: 97958041#

Link to report

The Interim Report is attached to this press release and available on https://investors.acast.com/