Spark Networks has published its first quarter earnings, as the online dating company moves to report its financial results quarterly rather than biannually. CEO Eric Eichmann said the pivot to more frequent reports will offer “increased transparency” to investors.
Revenue for the period came in at $56.4 million, a year-on-year decrease of $1.3 million, which the team attributes to 3% drop in paying subscribers. There are now just under 900,000 premium members across the portfolio.
However, despite the slight fall, Spark Networks remains on track to reach its previously stated full-year guidance of $238 to $244 million.
Adjusted EBITDA was $4.8 million, a drop of 36% compared to the first quarter of last year.
Eichmann said in a statement: “I am pleased with our first quarter financial results and the progress we are making in establishing Spark as a leader in social dating for meaningful relationships.
“We are improving the dater’s experience and setting a strong foundation for top line growth. We are on track to launch livestreaming on Zoosk and complete the rollout of compelling new aesthetics for our top brands in Q3. These innovations, combined with additional future social features should lead to higher user engagement across our properties.”
At the end of March, Spark Networks reached an agreement with ParshipMeet Group to add livestreaming video to Zoosk. The update is slated to be completed early in the third quarter and is part of the company’s extra focus on social discovery, to offer users extra experiences instead of just romantic matches.
Investors took advantage of a discounted share price as Spark Networks finished yesterday 3.75% up, after experiencing a 15%-20% drop in the first few hours of trading.
Read the full financial results here.
This article was updated to include details about how Spark Networks performed on the Nasdaq market on Monday, 17th May.