Pandora’s third quarter financials show gains in total revenue, but the music streamer can’t shake off the trend of losing listeners. The streamer’s Q3 net loss of $61.5 million did narrow from 2015’s loss of $85.9 million.
The active listeners total was down again in the third quarter of this year to $77.9 million compared to $78.1 million in 2015. On the plus side total listening hours grew to 5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to 5.14 billion a year ago.
Total consolidated revenue for the internet audio service provider was $351.9 million, which is a 13% bump from a year ago. Some of that increase goes to Pandora’s Ticketfly ticketing service business which accounted for $22.1 million in revenue, up 25% from 2015. The all-important advertising revenue column for Pandora showed a 7% year to year increase, according to the company.
Pandora, which recently launched its new ad-free subscription service Pandora Plus, has seen its stock dip Wednesday on the news of the third quarter results, which were released after the market closed Tuesday. Pandora Media at midday Wednesday was at priced at $11.18 per share, a drop of $1 per share from where it began the morning.
CEO Tim Westergren, Pandora’s co-founder, remains optimistic as the company seeks a path to profitability for the company.
“Pandora’s transformation continues with the launch of compelling new products and partnerships that open up significant revenue streams,” Westergren said in a press release. “Only Pandora is uniquely positioned to create deeply personalized and easy to use listening experiences that delight and engage listeners. A great product that’s effectively monetized is the cornerstone of success in digital music streaming.”
Pandora has been launching new services to transform itself into what Westergren refers to as a “complete streaming music service.” Pandora Plus is just under $5 a month and lets listeners skip songs along with offering other enhanced services.
The company projects its fourth quarter net loss will shrink further to between $39 million to $51 million.
