Audible Inc., a web-only spoken audio entertainment, information and educational programming retailer, reported revenue of $27.6 million for the third quarter of 2007, up 38% over the $20 million reported in the prior year quarter. Audible counted 455,000 total AudibleListener subscribers at the end of Q3 2007, an increase of 32% compared with 345,000 reported in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Q3 2007 were $1.8 million, an increase of $2 million from an EBITDA loss in the third quarter of 2006, but down $300,000 from $2.1 million in the second quarter of 2007. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter included $1 million in incentive compensation the company attributed to the stronger-than-anticipated performance in the third quarter.
Net loss for the third quarter of 2007 was $200,000, down from the net loss of $2.5 million reported in the third quarter of 2006.
During the quarter the company signed up 63,000 new AudibleListener members, down from the 71,000 members reported in Q3 2006, but a 15% increase compared with the 55,000 members reported in the second quarter of 2007.
98% of new AudibleListener members acquired in Q3 2007 were Gold or Platinum recurring revenue customers compared with 51% of those types of members logged in the third quarter of 2006.
“On the bottom line, our consistent delivery of multi-million dollar year-over-year improvements in adjusted EBITDA in 2007 has significantly exceeded our internal goals,” says Donald Katz, chairman and CEO at Audible, No. 125 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. “This has triggered a non-recurring employee profit-sharing-based incentive plan expense in the third quarter that resulted in lower quarter-over-quarter profitability. We expect our profitable growth model to be very much back on track in Q4.”
Revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2007, was $78.8 million, up 34% from the $58.9 million during the same period in 2006.
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