Earnings: Audible’s Q2 In Losses; Revs Up 25 Percent; Facebook Deal

Audible, the spoken-word digital audio firm, reported its Q2 numbers today, and they were mixed. It lost $2.2 million in Q2, compared to a profit of $823,000 in the year-ago quarter. But it narrowed from the previous Q106 quarter, when it had losses of $3.7 million. Revenues rose 25% to $19.1 million.
Total subscription members acquired during the quarter was 65,200, representing growth of 25 percent year over year. Churn declined by 120 basis points quarter over quarter to 3.4%.
Some main points from the conference call (transcript by SeekingAlpha):
— Apple iTunes revenue in Q2 was 22% of total consumer content revenue versus 23% in Q1. Q2 iTunes derived revenue was down by 7% quarter-over-quarter, after a 32% lead between Q4 and Q1. Our title download rates at audible.com and via our distribution network that includes iTunes are to some degree dependent on a steady flow of new best sellers, and the unveiling of new listening innovations like last quarter’s Ricky Gravis show.
— The UK operation saw 23% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, net of our Apple iTunes UK revenue. Despite their big hit in Q1 2006 with Ricky Gervais show, we still expect much better things in the UK, but I do want to note that with the UK iTunes revenue included, we have hit our goal of having a cash flow positive operation in England, very quickly.
— Our ability to reach college students during this fall has also been stepped up considerably via a new deal just signed with Facebook.
Release | Webcast of conference call |

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