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Investing.com -- Truecaller (ST:TRUEb) on Tuesday reported a strong fourth quarter and full-year performance in 2024, with year-over-year growth in several key metrics, although certain profitability margins showed a decline.
Net sales for Q4 2024 jumped by 23% to SEK 522.8 million from SEK 424.7 million in Q4 2023, with all revenue streams contributing to the rise.
Advertising revenue grew by 17%, supported by increased user engagement and the expansion of innovative ad formats.
Subscription revenue saw a 39% increase, driven by a higher conversion rate to paying users and an increase in the average revenue per subscriber.
Truecaller for Business revenue grew by 45% as more companies adopted its Verified Business and Business Messaging services.
EBITDA for the quarter rose 19% to SEK 201.1 million from SEK 168.5 million, but the EBITDA margin declined slightly to 38.5% from 39.7% due to increased costs related to incentive programs and investments in user growth.
Excluding incentive program costs, the EBITDA margin would have been 44.3%, marking an improvement from the previous year.
Profit after tax climbed by 29% to SEK 150.4 million compared to SEK 116.2 million in Q4 2023. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to SEK 0.44 from SEK 0.33.
Monthly Active Users (MAU) increased, reaching 429.4 million from 374.0 million, an annual growth of over 55 million users. Daily Active Users (DAU) also grew substantially, rising by 50 million to reach 354.4 million.
For the entire year, net sales rose 8% to SEK 1,863.2 million from SEK 1,728.9 million in 2023. India, the global caller identification and spam-blocking platform’s largest market, recorded a modest 3% sales growth, while the Middle East & Africa saw a 22% increase, and the rest of the world registered a 23% rise.
The relatively slow growth in India was attributed to weaker macroeconomic conditions and currency fluctuations, which negatively impacted revenue.
EBITDA declined slightly to SEK 684.2 million from SEK 702.9 million in 2023, bringing the EBITDA margin down to 36.7% from 40.7%. When excluding incentive program costs, EBITDA was SEK 758.0 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase.
The decline in margin was primarily due to increased investments in user acquisition, marketing, and pre-installation agreements with smartphone manufacturers.
Profit after tax fell slightly to SEK 524.3 million from SEK 536.3 million. Basic EPS increased marginally to SEK 1.51 from SEK 1.49. Truecaller’s MAU for the year rose by 45.3 million to reach 405.9 million, while DAU increased by 40 million to 332.6 million, reinforcing the company’s continued expansion across multiple markets.
Advertising revenue remained stable at SEK 1,344.6 million, with lower ad pricing (CPM down by approximately 34%) being offset by a 39% increase in the number of ad impressions.
Subscription revenue saw growth, rising 30% to SEK 267.8 million, supported by increased adoption of premium services and higher revenue per user.
Truecaller for Business revenue surged 44% to SEK 244.9 million, reflecting strong demand for verified business solutions and business messaging services.
The company continued investing in AI and machine learning for enhanced fraud and spam detection, resulting in better user engagement.
Truecaller launched a major iOS update, aligning the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) experience with its Android counterpart, a move expected to drive further subscription revenue growth in 2025.
The company’s global expansion strategy saw increased investments in key growth markets like Nigeria, Colombia, and the United States.
Despite increased costs associated with expansion and incentive programs, Truecaller’s revenue growth remained strong across multiple segments, with a particularly robust performance in subscription and business services.
The company plans to continue expanding its footprint in emerging markets and enhancing its monetization strategies. The recent iOS update and new ad formats are expected to contribute positively to revenue in 2025.