Music firm Kobalt’s latest financial results show that its revenues grew by 23.5% to $321m in its last fiscal year, which ended on 30 June 2017.
However, the group’s operating loss grew by 45.6% to $24.3m, while its net loss for the year grew by 69.8% to $33.1m. Although given the company’s ability to raise a $75m funding round in May 2017 plus its Kobalt Capital’s $600m raise that November, the lights aren’t in danger of going out any time soon for the company.
Kobalt told MBW that the widening operating losses were due ‘largely’ to interest relating to its acquisition of Fintage House’s publishing and neighbouring rights businesses in late 2016, although the company’s sharp growth in headcount: from 344 to 448 people in that last fiscal year, will also have contributed.
Other nuggets from the MBW interview with CEO Willard Ahdritz: he claims Kobalt is on course for nearly $500m of revenues in its current financial year; and that the company’s last funding round valued it at $789m.
On a divisional level, Kobalt Publishing’s revenues rose 13.8% to $260.5m last fiscal year – so more than 81% of the overall business – while its recorded-music division’s revenues more-than-doubled to $39.6m.
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