PlanetOut reveals second quarter figures
Leading gay media company PlanetOut has posted its second quarter results for 2007. The figures show a fall in advertising revenue, down from $7.3m (£3.7m) in the second quarter of 2006 to $6.7m in 2007.
Total revenue for the second quarter of 2007 was $18.5m, an increase of 14% compared to $16.3 million for the same period one year ago.
Last month PlanetOut announced a 15% cut in its employees.
The company closed its London office as part of a streamlining of business operations designed to reduce costs.
The board announced that 273 staff will be made redundant.
A company that invests the wealth of Microsoft founder Bill Gates last month purchased a major stake in PlanetOut.
The company’s quarterly figures reveal a drop in ad revenue that is likely to continue this quarter because of the closure of the London offices and the diminishment of UK-specific advertising that it generated.
Of interest to investors is the EBITDA, the “net income (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, stock-based compensation, restructuring, non-cash impairment charges, executive transition, financial advisory fees, minority interest in gain of consolidated affiliate and other expense, net.”
PlanetOut regards the EBITDA to be an important indicator of its operational strength.
Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2007 was -$3.3 million, down from $2.0 million for the same quarter a year ago.
That means a reduction of $5.3m (£2.6m) on the quarter figures for 2006.
Net Loss and Net Loss Per Share showed a net loss for the second quarter of 2007 was $31.0 million, or a loss of $1.77 per basic and diluted share.
This compares with a net loss of $0.4 million for the same quarter a year ago, or a loss of $0.02 per basic and diluted share.
For the second quarter of 2007, Adjusted Net Loss was $5.6 million, or a loss of $0.32 per basic and diluted share, down from Adjusted Net Income of $0.6 million for the second quarter of 2006, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share.
“During the second quarter we made significant progress in our efforts to solidify PlanetOut’s balance sheet and position the company for future growth,” said Karen Magee, chief executive officer, PlanetOut Inc.
“During the quarter, we signed an agreement to raise $26.2 million through an equity financing transaction, which closed in early July 2007.
“We examined every aspect of our business to identify ways to simplify and focus the company, and reduce expenses.
“Our recent announcement to close PlanetOut’s international offices was a direct result of this effort.
“We are making strategic changes to enable us to increase focus throughout the organisation on the most critical issues and opportunities in front of us during an important time of transition and rebuilding for the company,” Ms Magee added.
There was good news for PlanetOut this week. Traffic figures revealed that visits to US-based gay and lesbian sites jumped 23% to nearly 3 million visitors in June.
The comScore report linked that surge to the fact that people across the country celebrated Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.
The category was led by PlanetOut with 742,000 visitors (up 19%).
PlanetOut owns The Advocate, Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, Advocate.com, Out.com, OutTraveler.com and HIVPlusMag.com, as well as localised versions of the Gay.com site in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
The company is based in San Francisco with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis.
