Reservoir’s Quarterly Revenues Rise 16% on Strength of Music Publishing Division

Reservoir Media’s revenues rose and profit margins expanded last quarter, as the strength of its music publishing business helped offset a $4 million net loss, the company reported Wednesday (Feb. 8).

Reservoir reported that its top-line revenues rose by 16% to $29.9 million for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2023, which ended Dec. 31. The main drivers of that jump were the music publishing division, where revenues of $22 million jumped 14% from a year ago on strong digital streaming revenues, and Reservoir’s small artist management business, which delivered a year over year revenue increase of more than 200% from touring and merchandise sales at live events.

Reservoir founder and chief executive Golnar Khosrowshahi said the firm, which recently bought Dion‘s catalog and signed publishing deals with popular Indian rappers MC Altaf and D’Evil, has $2.3 billion in prospective catalog acquisition deals in its pipeline.

“We will continue to benefit from the overall momentum in the music industry,” Khosrowshahi said on a conference call discussing the quarterly results. “We are approaching the last fiscal quarter of the year with confidence.”

Reservoir raised its guidance for the fiscal year 2023, which ends March 31, for the second straight quarter. Executives said they now expect to report full-year revenue in the range of $120 million to $122 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the range of $46 million to $47 million.

The company reported that its adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter rose 24% to $10.9 million.

“While we are happy with our continued strength in the top line and operating margins, we did experience some pressure on the bottom line due to elevated costs during the quarter,” said Reservoir CFO Jim Heindlmeyer during the earnings call.

Reservoir reported a net loss of $4.1 million, stemming from a one-time non-cash tax expense related to the higher U.K. tax rate for 2023 and the extinguishment of some existing debt. That resulted in a diluted loss of 7 cents for the quarter compared to earnings of 2 cents per share for the quarter.

Depreciation and amortization costs also rose due to catalog acquisitions, while company administration expenses rose 19%, mainly due to Reservoir’s expanding management business division.

In the recorded music division, Reservoir reported revenue of $7.6 million, up just 1% over last year. While digital revenues in the division rose 17% to $5.3 million, declines in physical and synchronization revenue resulted in roughly flat growth year over year.