Acast posts strong growth amid continued listener decline from iOS update

Acast has reported organic net sales growth of 22% in Q2, despite a 15% drop in listens.

Net sales reached SEK477.9m ($44.2m) in the three-month period, primarily driven by North America and Europe, where net sales grew by 26% and 25% respectively.

The year-on-year drop in the number of listens was attributed to Apple’s iOS 17 update, which changed how podcasts are downloaded on mobile devices and, as a result, how listens are measured.

How a single iPhone update will have a big impact on podcast measurement

This update was first discussed in Acast’s nine-month earnings call in November 2023. CEO Ross Adams had called it “a positive development for the industry”, because in the long term it would lead to a “more accurate picture” of listening frequency, but he expected a short-term decrease in overall listens and an increase in average revenue per listener (ARPL).

In Q2, ARPL rose 45% to SEK0.43 compared from a year ago — a continuation of trends observed in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Adams pointed to “multichannel gaining traction”, with video and other social media channels becoming “increasingly vital in podcasting” to boost engagement, expand reach and enhance monetisation opportunities.

Acast ‘on track’ to full-year profitability in 2024

Earlier this year, Adams told The Media Leader that Acast was “on track” to become profitable by the end of the year.

In the latest earnings, Adams highlighted improved profitability had positively impact cash-flow generation. He added: “Ultimately, the financial development in the second quarter represents another positive step towards becoming a profitable growth company and reaching our goal of delivering Ebitda profitability in 2024.”

Acast has now reached 10 years in business and in that time had hosted 125,000 podcasts, delivered 37bn ads and paid more than $300m directly to podcasters.

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