AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Universal Music Group NV (AS:), the largest record label, on Thursday reported better than expected third-quarter core earnings due to rising streaming revenues and a legal settlement.
The company said top sellers in the quarter included Korean pop band BTS, BLACKPINK, Ado, INI and Morgan Wallen.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 539 million euros ($538 million), compared to 426 million euros in the third quarter of 2021.
Analysts had forecast EBITDA at 524 million euros, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue rose 13.3% to 2.66 billion euros, with streaming and subscription revenue up 7.7%. The revenue figure included a 71 million euro benefit due to the settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit, which also influenced EBITDA.
UMG, which competes against Warner Music Group and Sony (NYSE:), was spun out of France’s Vivendi (OTC:) in 2021.
Shares closed down about 1% at 20.78 euros in Amsterdam, after surging more than 10% earlier this week on news Apple (NASDAQ:) had raised prices for its Apple Music streaming service.
Universal, whose artists include Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, receives a cut of royalties when their music is streamed on Apple Music or other streaming platforms like Spotify (NYSE:).
($1 = 1.0020 euros)
