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(Sharecast News) - Dutch-American music record label Universal Music Group impressed with its fourth-quarter results on Friday, with strong subscription revenues driving top-line growth above analysts' expectations.
Group revenues were up 7.9% at constant currency (CC) to 3.43bn for the three months to 31 December, with growth reported across all major business segments.
The company, whose top sellers during the three months to 31 December included Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Wicked: The Soundtrack, reported total recorded music revenues of 2.57bn, up 6.8% on the year in CC terms.
Subscriptions and streaming revenues, which together make up two thirds of the recorded music business, grew 5.6% (at CC) to 1.60bn, as subscription growth of 9.0% (to 1.23bn) offset a 4.1% drop in streaming revenues (to 375bn).
The consensus estimate for the subscriptions and streaming combined was for growth of 4.1%, with subscription revenues expected to rise by just 5.1%.
Group adjusted EBITDA totalled 799m for the quarter, up 19.1% in CC terms, with the adjusted EBITDA margin improving 2.1 percentage points to 23.2%.
"2024 was a year distinguished by the exceptional performance of our artists and songwriters and significant progress on our strategic initiatives," said Lucian Grainge, chair and chief executive.
Shares were 3.5% higher at 26.88 by 1352 GMT.
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