Press Releases

Spark Networks(R) Reports Second Quarter 2007 Financial Results

August 2, 2007

Spark Delivers Triple Digit Growth in Net Income and 46% Increase in Adjusted EBITDA(1) Fueled by Improvements in Operating Effectiveness

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spark Networks, Inc. (Amex: LOV), a leading provider of online personals services, today reported financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2007.

    Second Quarter and Recent Highlights
    -- 533% Increase in Net Income to $2.1 Million or $0.07 per Share
    -- 46% Increase in Adjusted EBITDA to $3.8 Million
    -- 177% Increase in Cash Flow from Operations to $3.6 Million
    -- Greg Franchina Appointed Chief Information Officer
    -- U.S. Reorganization and Delisting from the Frankfurt Exchange
       Completed; U.K. Restrictions on Share Repurchase Program Lifted
    -- Tom Stockham Appointed to Board of Directors; Adam Berger Replaces
       David Siminoff as Chairman of the Board

"During the quarter we significantly enhanced our operational efficiency. We brought in new talent and reallocated responsibilities to better focus on product innovation and marketing and further strengthen our core brands. We made real progress on our products, pricing and marketing and are witnessing results," stated Adam Berger, Chief Executive Officer of Spark Networks, Inc.

"Contribution(2) for the second quarter grew 6% versus last year and 11% sequentially achieving a 67% contribution margin as our marketing team became more proficient and our marketing efforts were more targeted. Our improved marketing efficiency combined with better expense management increased adjusted EBITDA by 46% and cash flow from operations by 177%. This is solid progress."

"Though revenue growth remains a priority, contribution and adjusted EBITDA are important measures of our performance. We believe there is additional room for us to improve operating effectiveness and achieve the right balance of revenue growth and contribution margin."

Berger continued, "In July, we completed our Scheme of Arrangement. In addition to lifting certain U.K. restrictions on our share repurchase program and a significant costs savings previously estimated at an annual rate of $600,000, we believe the Scheme, with the outcome of being a U.S. corporation, will open up additional financing avenues not previously available to us and allow us more options to consider various acquisitions and financing alternatives in order to pursue our long-term growth strategy."

"I am also pleased to announce the recent addition of Tom Stockham to our Board. His experience related to our existing and potential business, including local advertising and social networking, is an asset to the Company and its investors," Berger said. "In addition, I want to thank my predecessor, David Siminoff, whom I have replaced as Chairman of the Board. David led the Company through a challenging transformation, and we will miss him on the Board."

Financial Results

Reported revenue for the second quarter of 2007 was $16.6 million, a decrease of 4% compared to $17.3 million in the second quarter of 2006. Revenue for the six months was $33.4 million, a decrease of 2% compared to $34.1 million for the same period last year.

Contribution for the second quarter of 2007 was $11.2 million, an increase of 6% compared to $10.5 million for the second quarter of 2006. Contribution for the six months was $21.2 million, a decrease of 2% compared to $21.7 million for the same period last year.

Net income for the second quarter of 2007 was $2.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared $328,000, or $0.01 per share, for the second quarter of 2006. Net income for the six months was $107,000, or less than one cent per share, compared to $1.0 million, or $0.03 per share, for the same period last year. Contributing to the decrease in net income for the six month period was an impairment expense of approximately $1.9 million, related to the impairment of the book carrying value of goodwill under FAS 142 related to AmericanSingles(R) and $1.1 million in share-based compensation expense related to the acceleration of vesting and extension of the exercise period of options for our former CEO and Chairman of the Board, in connection with his resignation as CEO of the Company.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2006 was $3.8 million, an increase of 46% compared to $2.6 million for the second quarter of 2006. Adjusted EBITDA for the six months was $6.3 million, an increase of 10% compared to $5.8 million during the same period in 2006. Excluding expenses associated with the Company's Scheme of Arrangement and its' first year implementation of Sarbanes Oxley compliance, adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months was $4.5 million and $7.6 million, respectively. The Company also reported that it expects to incur costs of approximately $750,000 during the third quarter of 2007 representing the remainder of costs associated with its Scheme of Arrangement. See the attached Consolidated Statement of Operations for a reconciliation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA to net income.

Average paying subscribers(3) for the Company, as a whole, in the second quarter of 2007 were 220,294, a decrease of 8% compared to 239,365 for the second quarter of 2006. Average paying subscribers for the six months were 225,802, a decrease of 4% compared to 235,002 for the same period last year.

Segment Reporting(4)

The Company reported second quarter 2007 revenue for its JDate(R) segment of $7.0 million compared to $7.0 million for the second quarter of 2006. JDate revenue for the six months was $14.3 million, an increase of 2% compared to $14.0 million for the same period last year.

The Company reported second quarter 2007 revenue for its AmericanSingles segment of $3.6 million, a decrease of 40% compared to $6.0 million for the second quarter of 2006. AmericanSingles revenue for the six months was $7.9 million, a decrease of 36% compared to $12.3 million for the same period last year. The expected decrease in revenue for AmericanSingles is largely attributable to a 24% decrease in the AmericanSingles marketing spend in first half of 2007 compared to the first half of 2006.

The Company reported second quarter 2007 revenue for its Other Businesses segment of $6.0 million, an increase of 38% compared to $4.3 million for the second quarter of 2006. The increase is partly attributable to the acquisition of HurryDate in February 2007 and a notable increase in revenue from advertising sales during the second quarter. Other Businesses revenue for the six months was $11.3 million, an increase of 45% compared to $7.8 million for the same period last year.

Average paying subscribers for the Company's JDate segment were 72,185 during the second quarter of 2007, a decrease of 4%, compared to 75,089 for the second quarter of 2006. Average paying subscribers for the six months were 73,698, a decrease of 2% compared to 75,202 for the same period last year.

Average paying subscribers for the Company's AmericanSingles segment were 51,518 during the second quarter of 2007, a decrease of 43% compared to 89,980 for the second quarter of 2006. Average paying subscribers for the six months were 56,568, a decrease of 37% compared to 90,151 for the same period last year.

Average paying subscribers for the Company's Other Businesses segment were 96,591 during the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 30% compared to 74,296 from the second quarter of 2006. Average paying subscribers for the six months were 95,536, an increase of 37% compared to 69,649 for the same period last year.

Balance Sheet, Cash, Debt

As of June 30, 2007, the Company had a cash and marketable securities position of $21.2 million compared to $20.6 million at December 31, 2006. Cash flow from operations for the second quarter of 2007 was $3.6 million, an increase of 177% compared to $1.3 million during the second quarter of 2006. Cash flow from operations for the six months was $6.5 million, an increase of 16% compared to cash flow from operations of $5.6 million in the first half of 2006. As of June 30, 2007, the Company has accumulated over $40.0 million of net operating losses (NOLs) to offset future income taxes. During the quarter, the Company purchased approximately 248,000 shares for $1.5 million in the open market under its share repurchase program. In addition, the Company made installment payments of $450,000 in respect of the previous acquisitions of LDSSingles(TM) and HurryDate(R).

Subsequent Events

Upon completion of the Company's Scheme of Arrangement, effective July 9, 2007, certain U.K. restrictions on its open market share repurchase program have been lifted. Upon the opening of the next trading window, the Company intends to authorize the purchase of up to two million shares, or the full amount approved by shareholders in November 2006. As of August 1, 2007, the Company has purchased 774,408 shares. As a result of the lifting of U.K. restrictions, the Company will be able to purchase an additional 1,225,592 shares subject to all of the restrictions set forth in rule 10b-18.

The Company also announced today, Tom Stockham has been appointed a director by the Company's Board of Directors, effective August 1st. In addition, Adam Berger has replaced David Siminoff as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Siminoff voluntarily resigned from the Board, effective July 31st, citing plans to focus on new business endeavors.

Investor Conference Call

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

    Call Title:                    Spark Networks Q2 '07 Financial Results
    Toll-Free (United States):     +1 866-226-1798
    International:                 +1 416-641-6132
    Confirmation #:                3230285

    One-Week Replay
    Toll-Free (United States):     +1-800-408-3053
    International:                 +1-416-695-5800

In addition, the Company will host a webcast of the call which will be accessible in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website under "Conference Calls and Presentations" at: 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; develop or acquire new product offerings and successfully implement and expand those offerings; 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; identify and consummate strategic acquisitions and integrate acquired companies or assets; obtain financing on acceptable terms; and successfully implement our current long- term growth strategy. 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 Network, Inc.:

The Spark Networks portfolio of consumer websites includes, among others, JDate.com (http://www.jdate.com), AmericanSingles.com (http://www.americansingles.com), BlackSingles.com(R) (http://www.blacksingles.com) and ChristianMingle(R).com.

    1 "Adjusted EBITDA" is defined as earnings before interest, taxes,
      depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation and impairment of
      long-lived assets. Adjusted EBITDA 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 adjusted EBITDA is not defined by GAAP. However, the
      Company regards adjusted EBITDA 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 "Contribution" is defined as revenue less direct marketing and
      "Contribution Margin" is defined as contribution divided by revenue.
    3 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.
    4 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.



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


                                                      June 30,    December 31,
                                                        2007          2006
    Assets                                           (unaudited)
    Current assets:
        Cash and cash equivalent                       $20,977       $20,412
        Marketable securities                              197           196
    Restricted cash                                      1,996         2,070
    Accounts receivable, net of allowance of
     $50 and $0  for June 30, 2007 and
     December 31, 2006                                     968         1,200
    Deferred tax asset - current portion                   239           219
    Prepaid expenses and other                           1,825         1,509
        Total current assets                            26,202        25,606
    Property and equipment, net                          1,451         2,306
    Goodwill, net                                       17,771        19,236
    Intangible assets, net                               5,471         4,406
    Deposits and other assets                               95            72
         Total assets                                  $50,990       $51,626

    Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
    Current liabilities:
        Accounts payable                                $1,435        $1,487
        Accrued liabilities                              4,632         4,985
        Deferred revenue                                 4,263         4,051
        Notes payable - current portion                    908         1,314
        Current portion of obligations under                --            43
    capital leases
         Total current liabilities                      11,238        11,880
    Deferred tax liabilities                             1,851         1,782
    Obligations under capital leases                        --            59
        Total liabilities                               13,089        13,721
    Shares subject to rescission                         5,492         8,079
    Commitments and contingencies                           --            --
    Shareholders' equity:
    Authorized capital .800,000 divided
    into 80,000,000 ordinary shares
    of 1p each; issued and outstanding
    30,579,900 shares as of June 30, 2007
    and 30,941,465 shares as of December
    31, 2006, at a stated value of:                        504           517
         Additional paid-in-capital                     70,102        67,571
         Accumulated other comprehensive                   206           248
    income
         Accumulated deficit                           (38,403)      (38,510)
         Total shareholders' equity                     32,409        29,826
              Total liabilities and                    $50,990       $51,626
    shareholders' equity



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


                                        Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
                                              June 30,           June 30,
                                         2007         2006     2007    2006

    Net revenues                       $16,616      $17,305  $33,436 $34,110

    Direct marketing expenses            5,444        6,790   12,201  12,447
           Contribution                 11,172       10,515   21,235  21,663

    Operating expenses:
      Indirect marketing (including
       share-based compensation of
       $13, $13, $23, and $26)             388          256      715     622
      Customer service (including
       share-based compensation of
       $20, $24, $39, and $47)             859          898    1,788   1,806
      Technical operations
       (including share-based
       compensation of
       $188, $202, $367, and $376)       1,477        2,207    2,901   4,437
      Product development(including
       share-based compensation of
       $90, $121, $178, and $239)          672          968    1,478   1,813
      General and administrative
       (including share-based
       compensation of $652, $701,
       $2,415, and $1,729)               5,549        5,644   12,134  11,276
      Amortization of intangible
       assets other than goodwill          354          355      698     594
      Impairment of goodwill                --           --    1,894      --
    Total operating expenses             9,299       10,328   21,608  20,548

    Operating income (loss)              1,873          187     (373)  1,115

    Interest (income) and other
    expenses, net                         (297)        (133)    (502)    (94)

    Income before income taxes           2,170          320      129   1,209

    Provision (benefit) for
     income
    taxes                                   95           (8)      22     171

    Net income                          $2,075         $328     $107  $1,038

    Net income per share - basic         $0.07        $0.01    $0.00   $0.03
    Net income per share - diluted       $0.07        $0.01    $0.00   $0.03
    Weighted average shares
    outstanding - basic                 30,677       30,359   30,772  30,313
    Weighted average shares
    outstanding - diluted               30,904       30,875   30,979  31,024


                                         Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
    Reconciliation of Net Income               June 30,           June 30,
     to Adjusted EBITDA
                                          2007         2006     2007    2006

    Net income                          $2,075         $328     $107  $1,038
    Interest                              (220)          40     (446)    (31)
    Taxes                                   95           (8)      22     171
    Depreciation                           505          802    1,052   1,581
    Amortization                           354          355      698     594
    EBITDA                               2,809        1,517    1,433   3,353
    Share based compensation               963        1,061    3,022   2,417
    Impairment of goodwill                  --           --    1,894      --
    Adjusted EBITDA                     $3,772       $2,578   $6,349  $5,770



                              SPARK NETWORKS plc
                       SEGMENT RESULTS FROM OPERATIONS
                 (in thousands except subscriber information)


                                             Three Months        Six Months
                                                Ended              Ended
                                               June 30,           June 30,
                                            2007     2006      2007    2006

    Net Revenues
    JDate                                 $7,045   $6,988   $14,255 $13,984
    AmericanSingles                        3,621    6,006     7,909  12,349
    Other Businesses                       5,950    4,311    11,272   7,777
    Total net revenues                   $16,616  $17,305   $33,436 $34,110

    Direct Marketing Expenses
    JDate                                   $682     $824    $1,396  $1,620
    AmericanSingles                        1,693    2,934     4,764   6,294
    Other Businesses                       3,069    3,032     6,041   4,533
    Total direct marketing expenses       $5,444   $6,790   $12,201 $12,447

    Contribution
    JDate                                 $6,363   $6,164   $12,859 $12,364
    AmericanSingles                        1,928    3,072     3,145   6,055
    Other Businesses                       2,881    1,279     5,231   3,244
    Total contribution                   $11,172  $10,515   $21,235 $21,663

    Average Paying Subscribers
    JDate                                 72,185   75,089    73,698  75,202
    AmericanSingles                       51,518   89,980    56,568  90,151
    Other Businesses                      96,591   74,296    95,536  69,649
    Total average paying subscribers     220,294  239,365   225,802 235,002

SOURCE Spark Networks, Inc.