Third consecutive quarter with increased subscriber growth rate
“2020 was a strong year for Readly, and we saw continued good growth throughout the fourth quarter,” comments Maria Hedengren, CEO of Readly. “During the year we increased the awareness about Readly, broadened our content portfolio on the platform and further developed the user experience. These measures yielded positive effects, with an increased growth rate of new subscribers for the third consecutive quarter. During the final quarter of the year we expanded the content on the platform with a number of daily newspaper titles in the UK and Sweden – and in Germany after the end of the period – contributing to a continued high level of user engagement.”
Readly had continued favourable development in the UK, with strong growth in both sales and number of subscribers, partly owing to good development via commercial partners and partly to continued improvements in optimising marketing channels. All other markets, including Germany and Sweden, also made a strong contribution to growth.
During the fourth quarter the gross margin was 34.1 per cent, compared with 32.0 per cent for the same period in 2019. Operating profit was SEK -40.7 million, an improvement of SEK 3.9 million compared with the same period in 2019. Throughout 2020 Readly made large investments both in conversion marketing and in brand-building campaigns. These investments continued during the fourth quarter, although at a slightly lower level than in the two preceding quarters, which partly explains the improved operating profit. During the fourth quarter the gross contribution margin was -4.1 per cent, which is an improvement of 5.4 percentage points from -9.5 per cent a year ago.
During 2020 Readly continued to develop an even better range of titles for the company’s subscribers. As part of this work a number of daily newspapers were added to the platform, particularly in the UK. During the fourth quarter, the addition of several popular titles was announced, including The Guardian, The Observer, Metro UK and the Daily Mirror. In Sweden the offering was expanded with the addition of Aftonbladet, Sweden’s largest evening paper. After the end of the quarter it was announced that Readly’s platform now hosts three new titles by the German publisher Axel Springer, including BILD, Germany’s largest daily newspaper. The British publisher Reach plc has also expanded its presence on Readly by including Irish daily newspapers.
During the year Readly strengthened its market leadership on a number of points, including agreements with approximately 100 additional publishers and the addition of nearly 800 new titles. Readly has also continued to deepen its unique, data-driven understanding of what drives user engagement, based on 34 billion anonymised data points.
“All in all, 2020 was a strong year for Readly. Our passion for creating an amazing digital reading experience for our subscribers remain, and our work to bring the magic of magazines into the future continues”, Maria Hedengren concludes.
October–December 2020
| | Revenue for the period totalled SEK 98.6 million (73.5), an increase of 34.2 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. |
| | The number of full-paying subscribers increased by 32.7 per cent to 369,764 (278,555) at the end of the quarter. |
| | Gross profit increased by 42.7 per cent to SEK 33.6 million (23.5), corresponding to a gross margin of 34.1 per cent (32.0). |
| | The gross contribution margin for the period was -4.1 per cent (-9.5). |
| | Operating profit was SEK -40.7 million (-44.6), corresponding to an operating margin of -41.2 per cent (-60.7). |
| | Adjusted operating profit was SEK -39.6 million (-41.2), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of -40.1 per cent (-56.0). |
| | Earnings per share were SEK -1.3 (-1.7) before and after dilution. |
Full-year 2020
| | Revenue for the period totalled SEK 352.6 million (264.7), an increase of 33.2 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. |
| | Gross profit increased by 41.4 per cent to SEK 117.1 million (82.8), corresponding to a gross margin of 33.2 per cent (31.3). |
| | The gross contribution margin for the period was -10.8 per cent (-6.2). |
| | Operating profit was SEK -189.1 million (-142.5), corresponding to an operating margin of -53.6 per cent (-53.8). |
| | Adjusted operating profit was SEK -169.6 million (-138.1), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of -48.1 per cent (-52.2). |
| | Earnings per share were SEK -6.5 (-5.9) before and after dilution). |
Presentation for investors, analysts and the media
Maria Hedengren, CEO, and Johan Adalberth, CFO, will present the results and answer questions in an audiocast and conference call at 9 a.m. (CEST) today, 18 February 2021. The presentation will be held in English.
To listen to the presentation by phone, please call:
SE: +46 8 505 583 52
UK: +44 3 333 00 90 30
US: +1 833 526 83 81
The report and presentation will be available for download at
https://corporate.readly.com/investors/financial-reports-and-presentations/
For more information, please contact:
Contact information for investors and analysts:
Maria Hedengren, CEO Readly
maria.hedengren@readly.com
Johan Adalberth, CFO Readly
johan.adalberth@readly.com
Annika Billberg, Head of Investor Relations Readly
+46 70 267 97 91, annika.billberg@readly.com
Contact information for media:
Linnéa Aguero, Head of PR & Communications Readly
+46 72 503 32 31, linnea.aguero@readly.com
This information is inside information that Readly International AB (publ) is obligated to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 07.30 CEST on 18 February 2021.
About Readly
Readly is the European category leader for digital magazines. The company offers a digital subscription service that gives customers unlimited access to nearly 5,000 national and international magazines – all in one app and at a fixed monthly fee. Readly has subscribers in more than 50 countries and content available in 17 different languages. In collaboration with approximately 900 publishers worldwide, Readly is driving digitalisation of the magazine industry. Revenue in 2020 amounted to SEK 353 million. Since September 2020, Readly’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Midcap. For more information, please visit: https://corporate.readly.com.
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Readly International AB (PUBL)
Gjörwellsgatan 30, 112 60 Stockholm, Sweden
E-mail: ir@readly.com
Reg. no 556912-9553
