Press Releases

Spark Networks(R) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2006 Financial Results

February 13, 2007

- Achieves Profitability in 2006 -

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spark Networks plc (Amex: LOV), a leading provider of online personals services, today reported fourth quarter and full year 2006 financial results.

    Highlights

    *  Reported Full Year Revenue of $68.9 Million
    *  Generated Full Year Net Income of $6.6 Million
    *  Delivered Full Year EPS of $0.21
    *  Reported Cash Flow from Operations of $13.1 Million

"2006 marked the first time Spark Networks has reported a full year of bottom line profitability. We generated $6.6 million in net income, and delivered EPS of 21 cents, a new record for the Company," stated David Siminoff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Spark Networks. "In addition, our operating cash flow continues to be strong. In 2006 we delivered EBITDAS of $15.2 million, also by far a record for our company. Our Other Businesses segment showed excellent results, growing 76% year-over-year. This performance reinforced our business strategy as we witnessed the growth of our targeted, affinity-focused communities outpace the growth of general market websites."

Siminoff continued, "During 2006 and into early 2007, we have continued to deliver on our growth strategy by executing a series of product and feature enhancements, creating an ad sales infrastructure, and closing a number of important acquisitions, including the recent purchases of Stu & Lew Productions(TM) and HurryDate(R). These most recent acquisitions set the stage for us to dramatically expand our burgeoning events offerings and leverage our vast online network into the offline world."

Incoming Chief Executive Officer Adam Berger stated, "Having served on Spark's Board for the last six months, I have gained insight into the value proposition Spark holds. I plan to continue to execute on the growth strategy that the existing team has laid out and I want to thank everyone for this opportunity."

Financial Results

Reported revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $17.2 million, an increase of 4%, compared to $16.6 million for the same period in 2005. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $68.9 million, an increase of 5%, compared to revenue of $65.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $8.3 million, a decrease of 23%, compared to $10.8 million for the same period in 2005. Total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2006 were $37.7 million a decrease of 10%, compared to operating expenses of $42.0 million for the same period ended December 31, 2005. Excluding stock option expense as a result of the Company's adoption of the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R ("SFAS 123R") in the third quarter of 2005, operating expenses for 2006 decreased 14% to $33.8 million. Periods prior to the third quarter of 2005 do not contain any expense for share options in accordance with SFAS 123R.

The Company reported net income of $2.7 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2006, compared to a net loss of $(403,000), or $(0.01) per share, for the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company reported net income of $6.6 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(1.4) million, or $(0.06) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2005.

EBITDAS(1) for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $5.0 million, an increase of 157% compared to EBITDAS of $2.0 million during the same period in 2005. Fourth quarter EBITDAS was boosted by a gain of $300,000 on the sale of the Company's stake in Playahead AB, a Swedish social networking company. EBITDAS for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $15.2 million, an increase of 151%, compared to EBITDAS of $6.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2005. See the attached Consolidated Statement of Operations for a reconciliation of EBITDA and EBITDAS to net income (loss).

Balance Sheet, Cash, Debt

As of December 31, 2006, the Company had a cash and marketable securities position of $20.6 million, compared to cash and marketable securities of $17.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2005. Cash and marketable securities, net of debt, was $19.3 million at December 31, 2006, compared to $6.5 million at December 31, 2005. In 2006, the Company paid the remaining $9.0 million in debt due as a result of the MingleMatch(TM) acquisition, as well as $2.0 million with respect to the acquisition of LDSSingles.com(R).

Cash flow from operations for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $13.1 million, an increase of 232%, compared to cash flow from operations of $3.9 million for 2005. The increased operating cash flow was driven by increased revenue combined with a reduction in operating costs, excluding stock compensation. In addition, cash generation in the fourth quarter was positively impacted by $1.4 million in proceeds from the sale of the Company's 20% interest in Playahead AB. As of December 31, 2006, the Company has accumulated over $40 million of net operating losses for tax purposes.

At the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on November 21, 2006, the Company's shareholders approved a share repurchase program. Under that program, from November 22, 2006 to December 31, 2006, the Company repurchased 94,559 shares at a weighted average price of $5.70. All shares repurchased are earmarked for cancellation and are therefore not included as shares outstanding in the Company's share count and weighted average shares outstanding at year end.

Segment Reporting(2)

The Company reported fourth quarter 2006 revenue for its JDate(R) segment of $7.2 million, an increase of 6%, compared to $6.8 million for the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, JDate segment revenue was $28.3 million, an increase of 9%, compared to $26.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Fourth quarter 2006 revenue for the Company's AmericanSingles(R) segment was $4.7 million, a decrease of 30%, compared to $6.7 million for the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, AmericanSingles segment revenue was $22.4 million, a decrease of 23%, compared to $29.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2006 revenue for its Other Businesses segment of $5.4 million, an increase of 73%, compared to $3.1 million in the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, the Other Businesses segment reported revenue of $18.2 million, an increase of 76%, compared to $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Business Metrics

Average Paying Subscribers:

Average paying subscribers for the Company's JDate segment were 74,775 during the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 4%, compared to 71,967 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, average paying subscribers for JDate were 74,983, an increase of 8%, compared to 69,299 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Average paying subscribers for the Company's AmericanSingles segment were 68,847 during the fourth quarter of 2006, a decrease of 22%, compared to 88,669 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, average paying subscribers for AmericanSingles were 80,519, a decrease of 22%, compared to 102,914 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Average paying subscribers for the Company's Other Businesses segment were 92,987 during the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 64%, compared to 56,640 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, average paying subscribers for the Company's Other Businesses were 81,366, an increase of 91%, compared to 42,580 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Average paying subscribers for the Company, as a whole, in the fourth quarter of 2006, were approximately 236,609, an increase of 9%, compared to 217,276 from the same period in 2005. For the year, average paying subscribers were 236,868, an increase of 10%, compared to 214,793 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Subscriber Acquisition Cost(3):

Direct subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) for the Company's JDate segment in the fourth quarter of 2006 was $14.62, an increase of 19%, compared to $12.25 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, SAC for the Company's JDate segment totaled $14.12, an increase of 11% compared to $12.70, for the year ended December 31, 2005.

SAC for the Company's AmericanSingles segment in the fourth quarter of 2006 was $44.19, an increase of 23%, compared to $35.85 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, SAC for the Company's AmericanSingles segment totaled $39.13, an increase of 11%, compared to $35.16 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

SAC for the Company's Other Businesses segment in the fourth quarter of 2006 was $25.88, a decrease of 13%, compared to $29.72 from the same period in 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, SAC for the Company's Other Businesses segment totaled $28.66, a decrease of 11%, compared to $32.05 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

SAC for the Company, as a whole, in the fourth quarter of 2006 was $28.12, an increase of 2%, compared to $27.50 from the same period last year. For the year ended December 31, 2006, SAC totaled $28.40, compared to $28.36 for the year ended December 31, 2005.

AMEX Bell Ringing Ceremony

Separately, the Company announced that it is scheduled to ring the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) tomorrow, Valentines Day, to commemorate the one year anniversary of its AMEX listing. The Company began trading on AMEX under the ticker "LOV" on February 14, 2006.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast:

The Company will discuss its financial results during a live teleconference today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time and 10:30 p.m. Frankfurt time.

    Call Title:                    Spark Networks 2006 Financial Results
    Toll-Free (United States):     +1-800-632-2989
    International:                 +1-973-935-8758
    Confirmation #:                8321321

    One-Week Replay
    Toll-Free (United States):     +1-877-519-4471
    International:                 +1-973-341-3080
    PIN Number:                    8321321

The Company will also host a webcast of the call which will be accessible on the company's website in the Investor Relations section under "Featured Events": http://www.spark.net/investor.htm

Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be considered to be forward-looking statements. Written words, such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intends," "goal," "objective," "seek," "attempt," or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially, including, but not limited to our ability to: attract members; convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers; keep pace with rapid technological changes; maintain the strength of our existing brands; and maintain and enhance those brands and our dependence upon the telecommunications infrastructure and our networking hardware and software infrastructure. For a discussion of these and further risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information that we file at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. Our public filings with the SEC also are available from commercial document retrieval services and at the web site maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

About Spark Networks plc:

Spark Networks' American Depository Shares trade on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol "LOV," and its Global Depositary Shares trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "MHJG." The Spark Networks portfolio of consumer websites includes, among others, JDate.com (www.jdate.com), AmericanSingles.com (www.americansingles.com), BBWPersonalsPlus(R).com (www.bbwpersonalsplus.com), BlackSingles.com(R) (www.blacksingles.com), CatholicMingle(TM).com (www.catholicmingle.com), LDSMingle(R).com (www.ldsmingle.com), LDSSingles(R).com (www.ldssingles.com), PrimeSingles(TM).net (www.primesingles.net), and Relationships.com(TM) (www.relationships.com).

    (1) "EBITDAS" is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
        amortization and share-based compensation.  EBITDAS should not be
        construed as a substitute for net income (loss) or net cash provided
        by (used in) operating activities (all as determined in accordance
        with GAAP) for the purpose of analyzing our operating performance,
        financial position and cash flows, as EBITDAS is not defined by GAAP.
        However, the Company regards EBITDAS as a complement to net income and
        other GAAP financial performance measures, including an indirect
        measure of operating cash flow.  As such, management believes that the
        investment community finds it to be a useful tool to perform
        meaningful comparisons of past, present and future operating results
        and as a means to evaluate the results of core on-going operations.

    (2) In accordance with Financial Accounting Standard No. 131, the
        Company's financial reporting includes detailed data on three separate
        operating segments.  The JDate segment consists of the Company's
        JDate.com website and its co-branded websites.  The AmericanSingles
        segment consists of the Company's AmericanSingles.com website and its
        co-branded and private label websites.  The Other Businesses segment
        consists of all of the Company's other websites and businesses.

    (3) Direct subscriber acquisition cost is defined as total direct
        marketing costs divided by the number of new paying subscribers
        during the period.  This represents the average cost of acquiring
        a new paying subscriber during the period.

                (Consolidated financial statements to follow)



                              SPARK NETWORKS PLC
                         CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                      (in thousands, except share data)

                                                           December 31,
                       Assets                          2006          2005

    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                      $20,412       $17,096
      Marketable securities                              196           196
      Restricted cash                                  2,070         1,126
      Accounts receivable, net of allowance of
       $0 and $13                                      1,200           932
      Deferred tax asset                                 117           101
      Prepaid expenses and other                       1,509         1,351
      Total current assets                            25,504        20,802
    Property and equipment, net                        2,306         4,453
    Goodwill, net                                     19,236        17,344
    Intangible assets, net                             4,406         4,627
    Investment in noncontrolled affiliate                 --         1,099
    Deposits and other assets                             72           295
    Total assets                                     $51,524       $48,620


         Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                                $1,487        $2,267
      Accrued liabilities                              4,985         3,632
      Deferred revenue                                 4,051         4,991
      Notes payable - current portion                  1,314         9,930
      Current portion of obligations under
       capital leases                                     43            --
      Total current liabilities                       11,880        20,820
    Deferred tax liability                             1,680         1,717
    Notes payable - long term                             --           900
    Obligations under capital leases - long term          59            --
      Total liabilities                               13,619        23,437
    Shares subject to rescission                       8,540         6,089
    Commitments and contingencies                         --            --
    Shareholders' equity:
      Authorized capital 800,000 pounds Sterling
       divided into 80,000,000 ordinary shares of
       1p each; issued and outstanding 30,941,465
       shares as of December 31, 2006, 30,241,496
       shares as of December 31, 2005 at a stated
       value of:                                         514           487
       Additional paid-in-capital                     67,113        64,064
       Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)     248          (302)
       Notes receivable from employees                    --           (82)
       Accumulated deficit                           (38,510)      (45,073)
       Total shareholders' equity                     29,365        19,094
       Total liabilities and shareholders' equity    $51,524       $48,620



                              SPARK NETWORKS PLC
                    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                    (in thousands, except per share data)

                            Three Months Ended           Years Ended
                                December 31,             December 31,
                              2006      2005      2006      2005       2004

    Net revenues            $17,237   $16,586   $68,853   $65,511    $65,052

    Direct marketing
     expenses                 6,224     6,059    24,574    24,411     31,240
      Contribution margin    11,013    10,527    44,279    41,100     33,812
    Operating expenses(1):
      Indirect marketing        197       300     1,130     1,208      2,607
      Customer service          992       888     3,708     2,827      3,379
      Technical operations    1,500     2,077     7,638     7,546      7,184
      Product development       770       907     3,296     4,118      2,013
      General and
       administrative         4,430     6,246    20,606    25,074     29,253
      Amortization of
       intangible assets
       other than goodwill      300       237     1,184     1,085        860
      Impairment of
       long-lived assets        114       105       114       105        208

        Total operating
         expenses             8,303    10,760    37,676    41,963     45,504

    Operating income (loss)   2,710      (233)    6,603      (863)   (11,692)

    Interest (income) loss and
     other expenses, net       (522)      426      (696)      711        (66)

    Income (loss) before
     income taxes             3,232      (659)    7,299    (1,574)   (11,626)

    Provision (benefit) for
     income taxes               531      (256)      736      (136)         1

    Net income (loss)        $2,701     $(403)   $6,563   $(1,438)  $(11,627)

    Net income (loss)
     per share - basic        $0.09    $(0.01)    $0.21    $(0.06)    $(0.51)
    Net income (loss)
     per share - diluted      $0.09    $(0.01)    $0.21    $(0.06)    $(0.51)

    Weighted average shares
     outstanding - basic     30,945    27,530    30,580    26,105     22,667

    Weighted average shares
     outstanding - diluted   31,320    27,530    31,248    26,105     22,667

    EBITDA
      Net income (loss)      $2,701     $(403)   $6,563   $(1,438)  $(11,627)
      Interest                  (57)       81      (166)      193        (32)
      Taxes                     531      (256)      736      (136)         1
      Depreciation              716       913     2,968     3,624      3,065
      Amortization              300       237     1,184     1,085        860
    EBITDA                    4,191       572    11,285     3,328     (7,733)
      Share based
       compensation             851     1,393     3,867     2,717      1,704
    EBITDAS                  $5,042    $1,965   $15,152    $6,045    $(6,029)


    1. Share based compensation included in operating expenses:
    Indirect marketing           $7       $14       $40       $24       $156
    Customer service             16        22        70        44         --
    Technical operations        147       170       652       338         22
    Product development          90       124       397       248         --
    General and administrative  591     1,063     2,708     2,063      1,526



                              SPARK NETWORKS PLC
                       SEGMENT RESULTS FROM OPERATIONS
                                (in thousands)

                            Three Months Ended           Years Ended
                                December 31,             December 31,
                              2006      2005      2006      2005       2004

    Net Revenues
    JDate                    $7,176    $6,800   $28,301   $25,961    $23,820
    AmericanSingles           4,701     6,691    22,396    29,217     35,224
    Other Businesses          5,360     3,095    18,156    10,333      6,008
    Total net revenues      $17,237   $16,586   $68,853   $65,511    $65,052

    Direct Marketing Expenses
    JDate                      $850      $775    $3,295    $2,885     $1,740
    AmericanSingles           2,676     3,597    11,870    15,167     24,954
    Other Businesses          2,698     1,687     9,409     6,359      4,546
    Total direct marketing
     expenses                $6,224    $6,059   $24,574   $24,411    $31,240

    Contribution Margin
    JDate                    $6,326    $6,025   $25,006   $23,076    $22,080
    AmericanSingles           2,025     3,094    10,526    14,050     10,270
    Other Businesses          2,662     1,408     8,747     3,974      1,462
    Total contribution
     margin                 $11,013   $10,527   $44,279   $41,100    $33,812



                              SPARK NETWORKS PLC
                               SEGMENT METRICS
                               (For the Period)

                            Three Months Ended           Years Ended
                                December 31,             December 31,
                              2006      2005      2006      2005       2004

    Average Paying
     Subscribers
    JDate                    74,775    71,967    74,983    69,299     69,833
    AmericanSingles          68,847    88,669    80,519   102,914    132,464
    Other Businesses         92,987    56,640    81,366    42,580     23,796
    Total                   236,609   217,276   236,868   214,793    226,093

    Average Monthly Net
     Revenue Per Paying
     Subscriber
    JDate                    $31.99    $31.50    $31.45    $31.22     $28.42
    AmericanSingles           22.76     25.15     23.18     23.66      22.16
    Other Businesses          17.24     18.21     17.21     18.27      16.75
    Total                     23.51     25.45     23.75     25.03      23.53

    Direct Subscriber
     Acquisition Cost
    JDate                    $14.62    $12.25    $14.12    $12.70      $8.09
    AmericanSingles           44.19     35.85     39.13     35.16      43.29
    Other Businesses          25.88     29.72     28.66     32.05      34.74
    Total                     28.12     27.50     28.40     28.36      33.85

    Monthly Subscriber Churn
    JDate                     24.7%     27.0%     25.5%     26.8%      25.8%
    AmericanSingles           26.9%     38.1%     32.4%     37.8%      35.6%
    Other Businesses          28.5%     27.5%     26.7%     27.0%      26.8%
    Total                     26.5%     31.7%     28.2%     32.1%      31.7%



    We define our key business metrics as follows:

    *  Average paying subscribers:  Paying subscribers are defined as
       individuals who have paid a monthly fee for access to communication
       and website features beyond those provided to our members.  Average
       paying subscribers for each month are calculated as the sum of the
       paying subscribers at the beginning and end of the month, divided by
       two.  Average paying subscribers for periods longer than one month are
       calculated as the sum of the average paying subscribers for each month,
       divided by the number of months in such period.

    *  Average monthly net revenue per paying subscriber:  Average monthly net
       revenue per paying subscriber represents the total net subscriber
       revenue for the period divided by the number of average paying
       subscribers for the period, divided by the number of months in the
       period.

    *  Direct subscriber acquisition cost:  Direct subscriber acquisition cost
       is defined as total direct marketing costs divided by the number of new
       paying subscribers during the period.  This represents the average cost
       of acquiring a new paying subscriber during the period.

    *  Monthly subscriber churn:  Monthly subscriber churn represents the
       ratio, expressed as a percentage, of (i) the number of paying
       subscriber cancellations during the period divided by the number of
       average paying subscribers during the period and (ii) the number of
       months in the period.

SOURCE Spark Networks plc