MusicMagpie slips to first half loss
Music Magpie’s group revenue declined to £71.3 million from £72.8 million in the six months to 21 May after growth in its consumer technology business largely offset an expected post-pandemic reduction in sales of disc media and books.
During the period, consumer technology revenue rose by 15.9% to £46 million from a year earlier, while disc media and books revenue fell by 23.6% to £25.3 million.
Adjusted EBITDA was also down, falling to £2.6 million from a prior £6.2 million.
Its results meant that MusicMagpie posted and adjusted loss of £0.7 million in the period compared to a pre-tax profit of £4 million in the first half of the previous year.
Steve Oliver (pictured), chief executive of MusicMagpie, said: “I am pleased that the business has delivered a strong performance in our strategically important consumer technology division, which now represents two-thirds of our total revenue.”
MusicMagpie said it is making good progress in its device rental subscription service which was launched in October 2020.
Oliver added: “Whilst the successful growth of this offering has a short-term compression on the financial performance of the business relative to a one-off sale, it will deliver higher revenue and EBITDA over the life of the device.
“It therefore remains our overriding growth strategy for the medium term, and we are delighted to announce HSBC UK and Nat West’s support in the form of a new £30 million three-year revolving credit facility to further support our investment in this area.”
Looking ahead, the company said its adjusted EBITDA remains in line with expectations for the full year.
