Universal Music Group Revenue of Gains of 4.3 Percent

Strong subscription revenue, improved margins and successful new releases by Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Post Malone helped Universal Music Group (UMG) post revenue of 2.9 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in the third quarter, up 4.3% year over year (4.9% at constant currency).

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached 621 million euros ($683 million), up 8.2% from the prior-year period. The Amsterdam-listed company’s adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 21.6% from 21.1% in the prior-year quarter and was helped by cost savings from the organizational redesign announced in February and lower A&R and marketing costs, CFO Boyd Muir said during Thursday’s earnings call. 

UMG had a typically strong quarter of chart-topping new releases. CEO Lucian Grainge noted during the call that Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet, released Aug. 23, went to No. 1 in 15 countries and topped the Billboard 200 in the United States for four nonconsecutive weeks. 

Elsewhere, Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess topped Billboard’s Album Sales Chart in September, while Post Malone’s latest project, F-1 Trillion, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and also summited the Top Country Albums chart. Island also has a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom with Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song,” which peaked at No. 28 in the United States.

Muir affirmed UMG’s previously announced guidance of an 8% to 10% compound annual growth rate for recorded-music subscription revenue through 2028.