Stingray Group Inc.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Stingray Group Inc. Q1 2023 results call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star for zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Matthew Peloquin. Please go ahead.

Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Stingray's conference call for its first quarter results ended June 30th, 2022. Today, Eric Boyko, President and CEO, as well as Jean-Pierre Trahin, CFO, will be presenting Stingray's financial and operational highlights. Our press release reporting Stingray's first quarter results for fiscal 2023 was issued yesterday. After the market closed, our press release and DNA financial statements for the quarter are available on our investor website at stingray.com and also on CEDR. I will now provide you with the customary caution that today's discussion of the corporation's performance and its future prospects may include forward-looking statements. The corporation's future operation and performance are subject to risk and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors identified in Stingray's Annual Information Form dated June 7, 2022, which is available on CETR. The Corporation specifically disclaims any intention or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Accordingly, you are advised not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Also, please be reminded that some of the financial measures discussed over the course of this conference call are non-IFRS. Please refer to Stingrays MD&A for a complete definition and reconciliation of such measures to IFRS financial measures. Finally, let me remind you that all amounts on this call are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. With that, let me turn the call over to Eric.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter conference call, fiscal 2023, and also today is our AGM, so happy if you could join at our AGM at 11. Stingray's overall business continued to gain momentum in the first quarter of 23, with revenues increasing 21.6% to $78 million. On the strength of in-store audio network acquisition, improved radio sales, following a return to more normal commercial operations. As a result, we're happy to report another strong organic growth of 9.9% year-over-year for the broadcast and commercial division. The acquisition of iFAN, now Stingray Advertising, with more than 20,000 locations is proving to be a game changer for Stingray with an organic growth of 58.5% year over year. We anticipate robust traction for this business in the next 12 to 18 months, particularly in Canada where we are better positioned for retail media advertising budgets in calendar 2023. On the property side, We generated adjusted EBITDA growth of 8% to 26.1 million in the first quarter of 23, which is remarkable considering that we received no government subsidies related to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the 2.9 million in the same period last year. Turning to our business segments, broadcast and commercial music revenue increased 31% to 46.2 million in the first quarter, again on the ISAN deal, higher subscription, and also increase in equipment and installation sales related to digital signage. Stingray is making a major push into fast channels, with streaming hours soaring 80% year-over-year to 12 million hours in the first quarter. Following the quarter end, we signed a distribution agreement with LG for a fast channel designed for smart TVs and webOS operating system worldwide. The increase follows the additional distribution of stigma music, other channels, and existing distribution of stigma naturescape and specialty channel. Clearly, FASH channel represents a high-growth vehicle for the corporation, as audience and viewing habits are rapidly evolving. On the SVOD front, our subscribers grew by 27% year-over-year to 730,000 at the end of Q1. In recent quarters, we have focused our efforts on more profitable SVOD products, and B2C to B2C, rather than consumer apps. For example, we're leveraging our relationship with established partners like Amazon, who have large installed customer base across countries to move the needle. In Q123, we expanded our penetration within Amazon India and Australia. As a result, we are steadily progressing towards our goal of reaching one million subscribers within the next couple of years. Moving into a radio business, revenues improved 9.5% to 32 million in the first quarter of 23, reflecting a better market environment than last year, but still below pre-pandemic levels. This revenue increase was locally driven as economic uncertainty and supply chain issues continue to affect national advertisers and key advertising categories like the automotive sector. We expect our radio segment to gradually recover from these short-term disruptions and continue to generate healthy cash flow. In closing, structured growth revenues have evolved from 31% in fiscal 2020 to 44% during the last 12 months, which demonstrates we are on the track for our long-term growth strategy. Along with sting re-advertising, fast channels, and growth, We are confident in our plan to secure in-car entertainment partners like the ones that we have with FinFast and Tesla. As we continue growing our high-margin digital business, we must remain prudent with our spending plans due to the uncertain microeconomic environment. As a result, our capital allocation strategy will prioritize debt reduction without sacrificing key initiative fiscal growth. in return, so we expect to increase our OPEX margin. I will now turn the call over to Jean-Pierre for a financial overview.