Swedish audiobook and e-book streaming company Storytel reported net sales of SEK 958 million, or $87.4 million, for the second quarter of 2025, representing a 4% year-over-year increase. Accounting for currency and foreign exchange fluctuations—or constant currency rates—growth was 8%.
Operating profit increased 75% compared to the prior year, reaching $7.5 million, while EBITDA rose 46% to $14.7 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 17.0% from 13.9% in the same period last year. Earnings per share of $0.05, while up from $0.03 in Q2 2024, came in below analyst expectations.
Paying subscribers increased 11% year-over-year to approximately 2,546,000 during the quarter. The company's Nordic markets grew 7% year over year in subscribers, adding over 80,000 paying subscribers. Non-Nordic core markets had year-over-year growth of 18%, adding 35,000 new paying subscribers during the second quarter. Average revenue per user decreased 8% to $10.60, with currency fluctuations accounting for $0.55 of the decline.
The company’s publishing operations saw revenue increase 14% year over year. The Q1 2025 acquisition of Swedish publisher Bokfabriken contributed SEK 10.6 million ($1.0 million) to quarterly revenue. Several titles performed strongly across the company's publishing portfolio, including Swedish author Dag Öhrlund's latest work, Konstnären (Lind & Co), which was cited in the quarterly report as a hit. In Finland, Juha Itkonen's latest novel, Tomorrow I Will Tell Everything (Gummerus) sold out its first print run within two weeks of launch. Fantasy-horror Storytel Original Lehusa by Vasil Polov has become the listened-to book on Storytel Bulgaria year-to-date.
The company cited several improvements across the platform during the quarter, including an improved in-app reading experience, the implementation of Dolby Atmos spatial audio for upcoming Storytel Orignals, and the launch of Norstedts Spektra, a new digital-first imprint.
"We have delivered a robust financial performance, driven by a high subscriber intake, solid EBITDA growth and strong cash generation giving us the strategic possibility to invest prudently in future growth," Bodil Eriksson Torp, Storytel CEO, said in a statement.
