Last month in a press release FriendFinder Networks announced that they want to re-launch its proposed initial public offering of common stock.
The story of their IPO started back in December of 2008 when FriendFinder Networks first filed their IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $460 million (see Story). In January 2010 they revised their initial public offering to less than half at $220 million (see Story). By February things were not looking so good and citing market conditions FriendFinder Networks delayed their IPO indefinitely (see Story).
Spark Networks reported their fourth quarter financial results this month. Revenue for the last quarter was down 9 percent to $10.1 million with a net income of $600 thousand. Net income is up substantially this quarter though since in quarter 4 of 2009 they reported a loss of $9.6 million. For the 12 months of 2010 revenue decreased 10 percent to $40.9 million with net income at $3.7 million when compared to 2009. In 2009 Spark Networks reported a net loss of $6.4 million.
For q4 2010 the number of average paying subscribers for the entire company was 160,744. This is a decrease of 5 percent when compared to the same quarter last year. For the entire year of 2010 the number of average paying subscribers was down 2 percent from 2009 to 162,311. Breaking average paying subscribers down by segment for quarter 4 2010 you can see all experienced a decrease when compared to the same quarter in 2009:
Cupid PLC head office is located in the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. They employ about 15 people at the head office and another 200 or so in the Ukraine.
Cupid made a few announcements earlier this month about their final results for the year 2010:
Revenues increase by 202 percent to £25.7m. In 2009 revenue was £8.5m
Pre-tax profits for Cupid rose to £4.16m from £983,000 in 2009
42 percent of Q4 revenues came from outside the UK
Their goal is to have more than 50% of revenues coming from North America by the end of 2011
When you combine all of Cupid's dating sites they have 13 million customer profiles registered worldwide
For more information on this story you can read the announcement on the London Stock Exchange. To find out more about Cupid PLC dating sites you can read our Cupid.com review.
I have been reviewing Match.com again recently and found a few mail message features that I had missed. It looks like both of these features where added in the first half of 2010 (at least that was when the information was added to help).
VIP Email
A Very Interested Person or VIP Email message can be sent by a subscriber to indicate that they are particularly interested in the person who is receiving the message. What makes this email different is that a Match.com member can send only one a week. With a VIP Email, Email Read Notification is included for free (there usually is an upgrade charge for this). The message will also be bolded and highlighted green in the receivers email box so it is easier to identify. Plus, your profile will be highlighted on the receivers Match.com's Connections page for 30 days.
In May of 2010 ChristianCafe released their iPhone dating app. Well, this month the Christian dating service has released a version for Android phones. Those of you with Android base mobile phones can now enjoy dating on the go. The new app integrates directly with your account on ChristianCafe.com and for those new to this dating site have the option of signing up for a free trial right from your phone.
Features of this new dating app include performing basic and detail searches, viewing profiles and seeing who is online in your area. Photo uploads are a snap to do along with communicating with your matches via email and winks.
For more information about the app you can watch the video tour:
To find out more about this dating site, read our ChristianCafe.com review. To download the app visit the Android Market and search for 'christiancafe'.
While Badoo.com is not a common name in the U.S., it’s fast becoming one of the most popular dating sites in the world. This week, the company announced that its user base has surpassed 100 million in 180 countries, mostly due to its hybrid business model, combining traditional online dating with social networking.
The company has also recently launched a Facebook app, which has gained 25 million users.
Users of Badoo.com can set up a profile and search for matches like traditional online dating, but the site seems to be more focused on “real-time” interactions, including chatting, flirting, and meeting as many new people as possible. They also offer geo-location dating. When you use the Badoo app on your mobile phone, you can meet others in your immediate area right away, rather than scheduling and planning a date.
"The biggest shift is from "marital dating" to "social dating" or "casual dating," says Bart Swanson, Badoo COO. "Online dating is no longer all about meeting a future spouse. It's about meeting lots of people in a short time, at short notice, in an easy, fun, relaxed manner."
While the site is popular in many European, Latin American and African countries, their U.S. presence remains virtually unknown.
“In the English-speaking world, we’re the biggest thing you’ve never heard of,” Badoo COO Bart Swanson tells Thinq.co.uk. “But that is now starting to change.”
According to Badoo, their user base is expected to reach 200 million by 2012. They are inviting U.S. users to try the site on their home page, hoping to tap into the saturated online dating market here. With the growing popularity of mobile dating apps, they just might succeed.
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