Universal Music Q3 subscription revenue growth tops expectations
(Adds missing text in paragraph 1) By Jerome Terroy Oct 29 (Reuters) Universal Music Group reported on Thursday a pick-up in subscription streaming revenue in the third quarter and said pressures on market share has moderated from the first half of the year. This quarter showed clear progress: subscription revenue growth accelerated and adjusted EBITDA margin, excluding Downtown, expanded by 40 basis points, led by stronger margins in Recorded Music, CFO Matt Ellis said. • Recorded Music subscription revenue grew 9.5% at constant currency, excluding Downtown — above the 8.2% growth analysts expected, according to an ING note published ahead of the results • The company reported revenue of 3.39 billion euros ($3.78 billion) in the quarter — up 11.7% at constant currency; excluding Downtown, the growth was 5.3% • Adjusted EBITDA rose 9% at constant currency to 729 million euros • Margin expansion in Recorded Music was partly offset by lower profitability in Music Publish