Audioboom saw a hefty drop in revenue following a slump in the advertising market and the loss of a hit show.
The podcast publisher, one of the largest in the United States, revealed turnover fell by around a fifth to $45.8million (£37.6million) for the opening nine months of 2023.
Much of the decline was caused by the departure of true crime anthology series Morbid to rival network Wondery in May 2022 after the pair agreed to an advertising sales and one-week windowing contract.
Listen closely: Podcast publisher Audioboom Group revealed turnover fell by around a fifth to $45.8million (£37.6million) for the opening nine months of 2023
Not only was Morbid the London-based company’s most popular podcast, with about 30 million monthly downloads, it provided around 20 per cent of its business.
Although the firm has subsequently signed multiple new partnerships or extended deals, sales have been further impacted by a slowdown across the advertising sector.
For every 1,000 downloads in the third quarter, the group reported revenue of $37, down from $54.77 during the equivalent period two years ago.
However, Audioboom anticipates turnover over the final three months of 2023 to rise to at least $19million, which would be its best three months since the second quarter of last year.
It expects this will lead to earnings before nasties returning to profit, compared to a $1.7million loss in the nine months ending September, with a further boost provided by improvements to contracts with podcast creators.
Looking ahead, the AIM-listed business believes next year will see it achieve its best-ever turnover and a rebound to ‘strong’ positive earnings.
Stuart Last, its chief executive, said the firm was ‘confident about our prospects for 2024, and I am pleased to maintain our expectations for record revenue performance next year’.
Founded in 2009, Audioboom is the fifth-biggest podcast publisher in the United States, according to figures from Triton Digital and Edison Research.
From July to September, its programmes were downloaded an average of 126.6 million times per month, against 107.5 million in the same period the previous year.
The company is contracted to produce the official podcasts for motor racing series Formula One, such as F1: Beyond the Grid and F1 Nation, until 2025 after agreeing to an extension deal last year.
Other shows on its network include The Cycling Podcast, The Tim Dillon Show, and No Such Thing as a Fish, whose presenters are the research team behind the BBC panel show QI.
Audioboom Group shares were 2.8 per cent lower at 175p on Monday morning and have slumped by approximately 60 per cent so far this year.
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