Spark Networks(R) Reports Second Quarter Financial Results
Highlights
- Company turnaround remains on track
- Significant, double-digit improvement in win-back rates with key cohorts
- Double-digit improvement on ChristianMingle TV spend efficiency
- New communication platform driving increased user engagement
- Subscriber base stabilized on both JDate and ChristianMingle in July versus June
- Reiterating commitment to subscriber growth in Q4
- 288,284 shares repurchased during Q2 at an average price of
$3.07
Commentary and Outlook
Chief Executive Officer
"As a result of the hard work of our teams, by the end of the quarter we began to see real improvements in a number of our underlying subscriber acquisition and retention metrics. These improvements have continued into early Q3 with July being a very solid month for us. In July, our Jewish Network subscriber numbers were up for the first time in a year and our Christian Network subscriber numbers were flat against the end of Q2.
"Our product and technology teams continue to hit their development milestones with the re-design and re-architecture of our core websites and we expect to deliver an updated JDate experience in early Q4 and an updated ChristianMingle experience in the latter part of that quarter. Concurrently, we've been able to release a number of valuable product improvements including an upgrade of our communication platform that has dramatically increased our users' interaction with each other. We also continue to improve our mobile offerings and it is exciting to see that over a third of our new subscribers are now coming through these channels.
"The most encouraging signs are coming from our new marketing team as they have begun to demonstrate meaningful improvements in our customer acquisition and retention programs. For example, we are currently seeing in excess of 10% efficiency gains with our ChristianMingle television marketing spend, our largest acquisition channel. In July, on JDate, we generated more initial registrations than any month since the first quarter of 2014. Additionally, our lifecycle team has captured a 10% and 20% improvement in win-back rates with recent cohorts versus a year ago on JDate and ChristianMingle, respectively.
"It is important to note that this is just the start. As we roll out new and refreshed products, and continue to enhance our operational capabilities, we expect to drive continued improvements in customer growth and retention.
"Finally, over the last year, we have been approached by various parties to consider acquisition opportunities that take advantage of our brands, strengthening platform, and core competencies. Given the stabilization of our business, we are now positioned to explore these opportunities and will update investors as appropriate.
"While we still have work in front of us, we are encouraged that our efforts are beginning to bear fruit and result in real improvements in the business. Our crawl, walk, run strategy remains squarely on track and we look forward to running in Q4."
Financial Highlights
| Q2 2015 | Q1 2015 | Q2 2014 | ||||
| Revenue | $12.3 Million | $13.5 Million | $15.8 Million | |||
| Contribution | $6.9 Million | $7.4 Million | $7.8 Million | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $621 Thousand | $1.8 Million | $1.1 Million | |||
| Net(Loss) Income | $(95) Thousand | $723 Thousand | $(1.1) Million | |||
| Cash Balance | $14.6 Million | $13.5 Million | $10.1 Million | |||
| Avg. Paying Subs3 | 203,895 | 213,445 | 275,345 | |||
| ARPU | $19.43 | $19.77 | $17.95 |
Financial Results
Revenue in the second quarter of 2015 was
Direct marketing expenses in the second quarter of 2015 were
Contribution in the second quarter of 2015 was
Excluding direct marketing expenses, cost and expenses in the second quarter of 2015 were
Net loss in the second quarter of 2015 was
Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2015 was
Liquidity and Share Repurchases
As of
The Company repurchased 288,284 shares during the second quarter at an average price of
| SPARK NETWORKS, INC. | |||||||||||||||
| SEGMENT4 RESULTS FROM OPERATIONS | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands except subscriber and ARPU information) | |||||||||||||||
| Q2 2015 | Q1 2015 | Q4 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q2 2014 | Q2 '15 v. Q2 '14 | Q2 '15 v. Q1 '15 | |||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Jewish Networks | $4,846 | $5,180 | $5,502 | $5,724 | $5,895 | -17.8% | -6.4% | ||||||||
| Christian Networks | 6,921 | 7,792 | 8,215 | 8,672 | 9,199 | -24.8% | -11.2% | ||||||||
| Other Networks | 470 | 487 | 504 | 533 | 570 | -17.5% | -3.5% | ||||||||
| Offline & Other Businesses | 25 | 27 | 43 | 79 | 93 | -73.1% | -7.4% | ||||||||
| Total Revenue | $12,262 | $13,486 | $14,264 | $15,008 | $15,757 | -22.2% | -9.1% | ||||||||
| Direct Mktg. Exp. | |||||||||||||||
| Jewish Networks | $745 | $599 | $684 | $628 | $693 | 7.5% | 24.4% | ||||||||
| Christian Networks | 4,450 | 5,338 | 4,325 | 5,293 | 7,073 | -37.1% | -16.6% | ||||||||
| Other Networks | 133 | 115 | 116 | 107 | 115 | 15.7% | 15.7% | ||||||||
| Offline & Other Businesses | - | - | 4 | 19 | 28 | NM | NM | ||||||||
| Total Direct Mktg. Exp. | $5,328 | $6,052 | $5,129 | $6,047 | $7,909 | -32.6% | -12.0% | ||||||||
| Contribution | |||||||||||||||
| Jewish Networks | $4,101 | $4,581 | $4,818 | $5,096 | $5,202 | -21.2% | -10.5% | ||||||||
| Christian Networks | 2,471 | 2,454 | 3,890 | 3,379 | 2,126 | 16.2% | 0.7% | ||||||||
| Other Networks | 337 | 372 | 388 | 426 | 455 | -25.9% | -9.4% | ||||||||
| Offline & Other Businesses | 25 | 27 | 39 | 60 | 65 | -61.5% | -7.4% | ||||||||
| Total Contribution | $6,934 | $7,434 | $9,135 | $8,961 | $7,848 | -11.6% | -6.7% | ||||||||
| Average Paying Subs. | |||||||||||||||
| Jewish Networks | 65,087 | 69,632 | 73,429 | 76,481 | 78,856 | -17.5% | -6.5% | ||||||||
| Christian Networks | 126,214 | 130,860 | 141,188 | 166,908 | 181,062 | -30.3% | -3.6% | ||||||||
| Other Networks | 12,594 | 12,953 | 13,257 | 14,290 | 15,427 | -18.4% | -2.8% | ||||||||
| Total Avg. Paying Subs.5 | 203,895 | 213,445 | 227,874 | 257,679 | 275,345 | -25.9% | -4.5% | ||||||||
| ARPU | |||||||||||||||
| Jewish Networks | $24.46 | $24.48 | $24.44 | $24.53 | $24.43 | 0.1% | -0.1% | ||||||||
| Christian Networks | 17.57 | 18.01 | 17.57 | 16.01 | 15.65 | 12.3% | -2.5% | ||||||||
| Other Networks | 12.08 | 12.22 | 12.27 | 12.11 | 11.97 | 0.9% | -1.2% | ||||||||
| Total ARPU5 | $19.43 | $19.77 | $19.47 | $18.33 | $17.95 | 8.2% | -1.7% | ||||||||
| Distribution of New Subscription Purchases6 | ||||||||||
| Q2 2015 | Q1 2015 | Q4 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q2 2014 | ||||||
| Jewish Networks | ||||||||||
| 1 month plans | 45.4% | 42.7% | 41.4% | 38.5% | 40.4% | |||||
| 3 month plans | 21.8% | 25.2% | 24.3% | 24.9% | 23.6% | |||||
| 6 month plans | 32.8% | 32.1% | 34.3% | 36.6% | 36.0% | |||||
| 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||||||
| Christian Networks | ||||||||||
| 1 month plans | 54.4% | 50.5% | 53.7% | 50.6% | 44.8% | |||||
| 3 month plans | 19.4% | 17.8% | 20.7% | 20.8% | 18.6% | |||||
| 6 month plans | 26.2% | 31.7% | 25.6% | 28.6% | 36.6% | |||||
| 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||||||
| Other Networks | ||||||||||
| 1 month plans | 58.3% | 56.0% | 59.2% | 58.6% | 55.4% | |||||
| 3 month plans | 11.9% | 12.2% | 11.0% | 12.2% | 12.7% | |||||
| 6 month plans | 29.8% | 31.8% | 29.8% | 29.2% | 31.9% | |||||
| 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||||||
| Composition of Average Paying Subscriber Base7 | ||||||||||
| Q2 2015 | Q1 2015 | Q4 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q2 2014 | ||||||
| Jewish Networks | ||||||||||
| First Time Subscribers | 21.5% | 22.4% | 22.4% | 21.9% | 22.4% | |||||
| Winback Subscribers | 29.1% | 28.8% | 29.2% | 29.5% | 29.8% | |||||
| Renewal Subscribers | 49.4% | 48.8% | 48.4% | 48.6% | 47.8% | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |||||
| Christian Networks | ||||||||||
| First Time Subscribers | 38.3% | 37.1% | 38.0% | 42.7% | 45.8% | |||||
| Winback Subscribers | 22.6% | 20.3% | 19.7% | 20.5% | 19.9% | |||||
| Renewal Subscribers | 39.1% | 42.6% | 42.3% | 36.8% | 34.3% | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |||||
| Other Networks | ||||||||||
| First Time Subscribers | 33.2% | 20.3% | 30.6% | 31.2% | 32.2% | |||||
| Winback Subscribers | 21.9% | 26.9% | 21.8% | 22.6% | 23.1% | |||||
| Renewal Subscribers | 44.9% | 52.8% | 47.6% | 46.2% | 44.7% | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |||||
Investor Conference Call
The Company will discuss its financial results during a live teleconference today at
Toll-Free (
International: 1-778-327-3988
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 at www.spark.net or by clicking http://investor.spark.net.
A replay will begin approximately three hours after completion of the call and run until
Replay
Toll-Free (
International: 1-858-384-5517
Passcode: 928500
Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including the implementation of the "crawl, walk, run" strategy to stabilize and grow the subscriber base which we have adopted. Any statements in this press 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: successfully implement our strategy to stabilize our subscriber base and grow; avoid significant subscriber declines; attract and retain members; convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers; retain and enhance the new marketing team; develop or acquire new product offerings and successfully implement and expand those offerings; keep pace with rapid technological changes, including making the technology stack more nimble; drive use of newly-updated mobile applications; maintain the strength of our existing brands and maintain and enhance those brands; continue to depend upon the telecommunications infrastructure and our networking hardware and software infrastructure; estimate on-going general and administrative costs, and obtain financing on acceptable terms. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" and in other sections of the Company's filings with the
About
The
1 "Contribution" is defined as revenue, net of credits and credit card chargebacks, less direct marketing.
2 The Company reports Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). This non-GAAP measure is one of the primary metrics by which we evaluate the performance of our businesses, budget, forecast and compensate management. We believe this measure provides management and investors with a consistent view, period to period, of the core earnings generated from on-going operations and excludes the impact of: (i) non-cash items such as stock-based compensation, asset impairments, non-cash currency translation adjustments related to an inter-company loan and (ii) one-time items that have not occurred in the past two years and are not expected to recur in the next two years. Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as a substitute for net income (loss) (as determined in accordance with GAAP) for the purpose of analyzing our operating performance or financial position, as Adjusted EBITDA is not defined by GAAP. A reconciliation of the Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended
"Adjusted EBITDA" is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, impairment of long-lived assets, non-cash currency translation adjustments for an inter-company loan and non-recurring proxy and severance expense.
3 "Average paying subscribers" are defined as individuals who have paid a monthly fee for access to communication and Web site 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. The calculation excludes results from the Company's HurryDate business due to its relative size.
4 In accordance with Segment Reporting guidance, the Company's financial reporting includes detailed data on four separate operating segments. The Jewish Networks segment consists of the Company's JDate.com, JDate.co.il, JDate.fr, JDate.co.uk and Cupid.co.il Web sites and their respective co-branded Web sites. The Christian Networks segment consists of the Company's ChristianMingle.com, ChristianMingle.co.uk, ChristianMingle.com.au, Believe.com, ChristianCards.net, ChristianDating.com, DailyBibleVerse.com and Faith.com Web sites. The Other Networks segment consists of Spark.com and related other general market Web sites as well as other properties which are primarily composed of sites targeted towards various religious, ethnic, geographic and special interest groups. The Offline & Other Businesses segment consists of revenue generated from offline activities and HurryDate events and subscriptions.
5 ARPU is defined as average revenue per user per month. Total ARPU excludes results from the Company's HurryDate business due to its relative size.
6 One month plans may also include a small amount of two month plans. Three month plans may include a small amount of four month plans. Six month plans may include a small amount of twelve month plans.
7 Represents the type of subscriber comprising the average paying subscribers in that period. First Time Subscribers are defined as those subscribers that have never purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment. Winback Subscribers are defined as those individuals who have purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment, allowed their subscription to lapse, and subsequently purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment. Renewal Subscribers are defined as those subscribers that have auto-renewed a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment.
| SPARK NETWORKS, INC. | ||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||||||||
| (in thousands, except share data) | ||||||||||
| June 30, | December 31, | |||||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 14,617 | $ | 11,696 | ||||||
| Restricted cash | 875 | 1,056 | ||||||||
| Accounts receivable, (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $0 and $99 at December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively) | 1,202 | 1,308 | ||||||||
| Deferred tax asset - current | 9 | 11 | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other | 839 | 1,516 | ||||||||
| Total current assets | 17,542 | 15,587 | ||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 4,581 | 4,072 | ||||||||
| Goodwill | 8,768 | 8,575 | ||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 2,451 | 2,469 | ||||||||
| Deferred tax asset - non-current | 68 | 68 | ||||||||
| Deposits and other assets | 119 | 234 | ||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 33,529 | $ | 31,005 | ||||||
| Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | ||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 1,608 | $ | 1,300 | ||||||
| Accrued liabilities | 4,133 | 3,948 | ||||||||
| Deferred revenue | 6,308 | 7,092 | ||||||||
| Deferred tax liability - current portion | 576 | 496 | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 12,625 | 12,836 | ||||||||
| Deferred tax liability | 1,658 | 1,607 | ||||||||
| Other liabilities | 677 | 807 | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | 14,960 | 15,250 | ||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies | ||||||||||
| Stockholders' equity: | ||||||||||
| Authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value; issued and outstanding: 24,556,182 and 25,156,622 shares at December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015, respectively: | 25 | 25 | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in-capital | 74,713 | 72,522 | ||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 754 | 759 | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (56,923 | ) | (57,551 | ) | ||||||
| Total stockholders' equity | 18,569 | 15,755 | ||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 33,529 | $ | 31,005 | ||||||
| SPARK NETWORKS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | |||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited, in thousands, except per share data) | |||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 12,262 | $ | 15,757 | $ | 25,748 | $ | 32,373 | |||||||||
| Cost and expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation shown separately below) | 6,368 | 8,866 | 13,465 |
21,230 |
|||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 996 | 1,369 | 1,751 | 2,931 | |||||||||||||
| Customer service | 721 | 763 | 1,470 | 1,551 | |||||||||||||
| Technical operations | 214 | 300 | 426 | 641 | |||||||||||||
| Development | 1,008 | 900 | 1,925 | 1,759 | |||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 2,533 | 4,069 | 4,771 | 7,026 | |||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 532 | 523 | 1,045 | 1,040 | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Impairment of long-lived assets | 37 | -- | 106 | -- | |||||||||||||
| Total cost and expenses | 12,419 | 16,800 | 24,979 | 36,198 | |||||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | (157 | ) | (1,043 | ) | 769 | (3,825 | ) | ||||||||||
| Interest income (expense) and other, net | 230 | 48 | 112 | 17 | |||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 73 | (995 | ) | 881 | (3,808 | ) | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 168 | 140 | 253 | 219 | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | (95 | ) | (1,135 | ) | 628 | (4,027 | ) | ||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income, net of tax: | |||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | (7 | ) | 12 | (5 | ) | 11 | |||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | $ | (102 | ) | $ | (1,123 | ) | $ | 623 | $ | (4,016 | ) | ||||||
| Net earnings (loss) per share--basic and diluted | $ | (0.00 | ) | $ | (0.05 | ) | $ | 0.03 | $ | (0.17 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding - basic | 25,100 | 23,851 | 24,878 | 23,886 | |||||||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted | 25,100 | 23,851 | 25,100 | 23,886 | |||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation: | |||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 10 | $ | 38 | $ | 8 | $ | 76 | |||
| Development | 3 | - | 3 | - | |||||||
| General and administrative | 242 | 112 | 326 | 252 | |||||||
| Reconciliation of Net (Loss) Income to Adjusted EBITDA: | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (95 | ) | $ | (1,135 | ) | $ | 628 | $ | (4,027 | ) | |||||
| Interest expense | 8 | 12 | 20 | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Tax provision (benefit) | 112 | 140 | 197 | 219 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 532 | 523 | 1,045 | 1,040 | ||||||||||||
| Amortization | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 | ||||||||||||
| EBITDA | 567 | (450 | ) | 1,910 | (2,724 | ) | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 255 | 150 | 337 | 328 | ||||||||||||
| Impairment of long-lived assets | 37 | - | 106 | - | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash currency translation adjustments | (238 | ) | (63 | ) | (136 | ) | (43 | ) | ||||||||
| Non-recurring proxy and severance | - | 1,424 | 161 | 1,424 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 621 | $ | 1,061 | $ | 2,378 | $ | (1,015 | ) | |||||||
Source: