Q2: North America leads the way
Modular Finance Ab ·
Interim report January - June 2025
Second quarter 2025
Other significant events
Comments from the CEO: North America leads the way
Acast sustained high growth in the second quarter, significantly boosted by strong performance in North America. While one-time costs impacted reported results, our underlying profitability continues to improve as we scale revenues. As the new CEO, I'm confident Acast's core strength – our top-tier creator network and technology platform – positions us to deliver value at scale for brands and advertisers, driving our next chapter of success.
North America: Driving our global growth
Our growth momentum continued into Q2 2025, with group sales increasing by 27 percent compared to the same period last year, of which 32 percent was organic growth. Our North American segment was the key growth driver also in the second quarter, growing sales by 70 percent. For the first time ever, the US now represents our largest market. Sales in Europe increased by 9% compared to last year, primarily driven by robust growth across Continental Europe, whereas we saw softer development in the UK during the quarter. Our revenues in Other Markets increased by 12%.
Solid APRL growth and new record bookings
The Average Revenue Per Listen (ARPL) grew by 27 percent to reach SEK 0.55, reflecting continued positive monetization momentum. While the total number of listens remained flat compared to the same period last year, our strategic focus on acquiring more commercial inventory has resulted in a stronger base of monetizable listens.
We continue to benefit from the increasing trend of buyers making larger transactions, and in the quarter we observed record-breaking bookings in two out of our three largest markets. Importantly, our acquisition of Wonder Media Network, now part of Acast Creative Studios, was a significant enabler in generating one of these bookings. In the quarter, we also announced the debut of the first production from Acast Creative Studios in collaboration with BetterHelp, one of the leading global advertisers in the podcasting industry.
Adjusted EBITDA margin of three percent, results affected by leadership transition
The gross margin reached 40 percent in the quarter, positively impacted by product mix, yield management and scaling against ad tech and distribution costs. Our cost base in Q2 has been significantly impacted by items affecting comparability, primarily related to the CEO change, and operating expenses further included cost related to our CPO leaving, ultimately explaining the EBITDA loss in the quarter. Despite these specific costs, our underlying operational performance continues to demonstrate a clear path to enhanced profitability. The adjusted EBITDA amounted to SEK16m, reflecting a 3 percent margin.
Driving change, leveraging our core
I'm honored to share my first reflections as CEO of Acast. We're building on strong current momentum, evidenced by substantial progress in the US, growing advertiser spend and improving underlying results. I'm incredibly excited about our future and the opportunity to write the next chapter of our success story together.
Acast's unique strength as a top global creator network comes from its focus on podcast creators, ensuring they can connect with highly engaged audiences through every available avenue. The media landscape is undergoing significant change, redefining how audiences consume content and how brands connect with them. As brands increasingly seek authenticity, Acast is uniquely positioned to deliver it at scale, leveraging our extensive creator network and strategic investments in our technology platform.
We’re attracting more advertisers to podcasting because we are pioneering the shift to buying audiences and reach, in addition to individual shows. Ultimately, the brands that combine deeply integrated vertical buys on individual shows, with scaled horizontal audience buys are seeing incredible results. This significantly improves our efficiency and scalability, driving substantial returns for all stakeholders.
The podcast industry is rapidly entering a new phase, and Acast has a responsibility as the global market leader to set that direction. We know that brands are shifting from curiosity and experimentation, to making our audiences a core pillar of their media plans. The role of a marketer has never been more challenging, so it’s the perfect moment for a new platform to emerge that can deliver authentic audiences with measurable results.
Greg Glenday
CEO
Report presentation
CEO Greg Glenday and CFO Emily Villatte will present the report in a webcast today 25 July at 14:00 CET. The presentation will be held in English and there will be the opportunity to ask questions during the presentation. Link to the presentation: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/k4hpefe5
Link to the report
The Interim Report is attached to this press release and available on https://investors.acast.com/
Source:
Modular Finance Ab