Pandora Media reported a fiscal Q4 loss of $14.6 million, or 9 cents a share, on revenue of $125.1 million. That’s up 54% from last year’s fiscal Q4. During the same period a year ago, the Internet radio company lost $8.2 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $81.3 million.
Fiscal 2013 revenue was 427.1 million, up 56% YOY. Fiscal 2013 total mobile revenue was $256 million, up 89% YOY. That’s likely what made the shares jump 25% in after-hours trading, as analysts have pegged mobile revenues to the future of online streaming companies’ health. Q4 mobile revenue was $80.3 million, up 111% YOY. That outpaced mobile listener growth, which grew 70% YOY.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Pandora to lose 5 cents a share on $122.8 million in revenue. Pandora also forecast a Q1 loss, excluding one-time items, of 10 cents to 13 cents a share, on sales in a range of $120 million to $125 million. Pandora’s shares climbed as much as 17% in after-hours trading following the release of the company’s results and outlook.
Another strong number reported was total listener hours, which grew 53% to 4.05 billion in the quarter, compared to 2.66 billion for Q4 fiscal 2012.
Pandora also announced it will begin a process to identify a successor to the company’s Chairman, CEO and President, Joe Kennedy. Kennedy, who has led the Company since July 2004, will continue in his current role until his successor is named.
RBR-TVBR observation: Pandora is hitting all of the right numbers, and even though they still showed a quarterly loss, the future is bright. Along with all of the reasons mentioned above, another smart move recently announced was that Pandora audience data will appear in media buying platforms. Radio buyers will now have automatic access to Pandora audience ratings in STRATA and Mediaocean’s Donovan and Mediabank systems, and be able to compare Pandora’s audience data side-by-side with broadcast radio stations across the country.
