Paris-headquartered music firm Imagine has printed its monetary outcomes for the primary half of 2024 (the six months ending June 30).
Imagine, which trades on the Paris Euronext, generated revenues of EUR €474.1 million (approx. USD $510m) in H1 throughout its whole enterprise.
Based on Imagine‘s submitting, issued on Thursday (August 1), the corporate’s H1 revenues grew by €58.7 million, from €415.4 million in H1 2023, reflecting a rise of 14.1% YoY.
On an natural/fixed foreign money foundation, Imagine’s revenues grew 12.3% YoY, which incorporates what it reported had been “foreign money headwinds embedded” in its Premium Options division’s digital gross sales.
Adjusted natural progress amounted to fifteen.4% YoY in H1 2024.
Imagine reported on Thursday that its “paid streaming developments had been stable” within the first half of the yr “and nonetheless enhanced by value will increase by a number of massive digital platforms in This autumn [2023]”. It added, nevertheless, that “ad-funded streaming monetization remained weak, notably in Asia”.
Imagine breaks down its international operations into two divisions:
- (i) DIY distributor TuneCore (known as ‘Automated Options’ in its outcomes); in addition to
- (ii) The efficiency of its core premium label and artist companies operation (known as ‘Premium Options’)
The corporate’s ‘Premium Options’ revenues grew 13.5% YoY – from €388.5 million in H1 2023 – to €440.9 million in H1 2024. On an natural foundation, ‘Premium Options’ revenues grew 11.7% YoY.
Imagine studies that its paid streaming developments “remained stable” all through H1, whereas ad-funded streaming actions “remained subdued notably in Asia and didn’t get well on the finish of Q2 [2024] as initially anticipated by the Group”.
In the meantime, in keeping with the corporate’s newest monetary outcomes, in H1 2024 its Automated Options division’s revenues grew 23.4% YoY to €33.2 million. On an natural foundation, Automated Options revenues grew 20.5% YoY.
Imagine additionally breaks down its revenues geographically and reported robust progress within the Americas and Europe.
The corporate noticed 24.7% YoY income progress in Europe (excluding France and Germany), producing €152 million within the area within the first half of the yr. Europe represented 32.1% of Imagine’s complete revenues in H1.
The corporate mentioned that it recorded robust progress throughout Jap Europe and in Spain, whereas its “exercise remained stable in Italy” and “revenues in Turkey considerably elevated” in H1.
Imagine mentioned that its efficiency within the UK “was penalized” by the reallocation of Sentric‘s revenues to the US in Q2 2024, which “subsequently hampered the comparability foundation with Q2 2023 as all Sentric revenues had been then allotted on this market”.
The corporate defined in its submitting: “Sentric revenues at the moment are cut up by area because of larger integration within the Group’s programs, whereas they had been beforehand accounted for in Europe excl. France and Germany. This was accomplished in Q2 [2024] and most of revenues had been reallocated to the US.”
Imagine acquired $51 million-valued Sentric from Utopia Music in March 2023.
Elsewhere on this planet, Imagine’s revenues within the Americas grew by 21.8% YoY to €73.9 million and represented 15.6% of the corporate’s complete revenues in H1 2024.
Imagine famous that the extent of its enterprise exercise was robust in Mexico, whereas Brazil “recorded a slowdown” in its income progress.
In France, Imagine’s revenues grew 17.9% YoY to €78.4 million in H1 2024 and accounted for 16.5% of the broader firm’s revenues.
In Asia Pacific and Africa, revenues grew 3.7% YoY to €116.3 million which represented 24.5% of the corporate’s revenues in H1. Based on Imagine’s submitting, the corporate skilled a “gradual begin to the yr because of the weaker ad-funded streaming market”, however that it returned to income progress in Q2.
Imagine mentioned that its efficiency in Larger China and Japan was “robust all through [H1]”. Elsewhere within the area, Imagine mentioned that its revenues “had been up barely in India and down in a number of Southeast Asian markets, as the 2 areas are extra depending on ad-funded streaming”.
Lastly, in Germany, revenues had been down 1.2% YoY in H1 to €53.5 million and accounted for 11.3% of the corporate’s revenues. In Germany, Imagine mentioned that its “digital gross sales had been barely up” in Q1 2024 and “additional progressed” in Q2.
It added, nevertheless, that non-digital gross sales “continued to say no” available in the market in H1 “on the again of Imagine’s proactive resolution to speed up its exit from contracts that had been too closely reliant on bodily gross sales and merchandising”.
“Regardless of persistent market headwinds in a few of our key territories, Imagine continued to generate stable worthwhile progress throughout the semester.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Imagine
Elsewhere at Imagine, the corporate reported an Adjusted EBITDA of €31.3 million, up 29.3% YoY, or a margin of 6.6%, up +80bps YoY.
The corporate’s web money on the finish of June 2024 was €183.6 million.
Different highlights famous by the corporate for the primary half of the yr included the simplified public tender supply initiated by Upbeat Bidco, the consortium shaped by funds managed by TCV, EQT X and Denis Ladegaillerie, which was accomplished in June.
Based on Imagine, on the time of its earnings launch after the market closed right now, the consortium held 96.02% of Imagine’s share capital.
Imagine additionally introduced that going ahead, it can solely publish interim and full-year outcomes and not launch quarterly income outcomes.
Denis Ladegaillerie, Founder and CEO of Imagine, mentioned: “Regardless of persistent market headwinds in a few of our key territories, Imagine continued to generate stable worthwhile progress throughout the semester.
“We pursued our strategic roadmap to construct the most effective artist improvement firm within the music trade, whereas finalizing the restructuring of our capital construction offering us with larger monetary flexibility and companions who can speed up our worthwhile progress story.
“Imagine is in good stead for the following part of progress and trade consolidation.”
Wanting in the direction of the second half of 2024, Imagine mentioned that “paid streaming improve continues to be very resilient, however won’t be uplifted by important value will increase within the second half of the yr”.
It added: “Advert-funded streaming progress is assumed to stay steady in H2 [2024] versus H1 [2024].
“Whereas Imagine expects to proceed to realize market share in H2’24, it’s unlikely to have the ability to absolutely mitigate the impact of the marginally softer than anticipated market progress outlook in H2 [2024] (pushed by weaker ad-funded and no further DSP value will increase.”Music Enterprise Worldwide
