The Meet Group

The Meet Group, parent to an ecosystem of social networking and dating apps focused on livestreaming, has released financial results for the second quarter of 2019. The Meet Group’s portfolio of brands includes MeetMe, LOVOO, Skout, Tagged, and Growlr.

For Q2 2019, the Meet Group reported revenue of $52 million, an increase of $9.2 million (or 22%) from $42.8 million in the second quarter of 2018. GAAP net income for the period was $2.2 million ($0.03 per diluted share) compared to a GAAP net loss of $0.2 million ($0.00 per diluted share) in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2019 was $9.8 million, compared to $7.6 million in the second quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2019 was $8.8 million ($0.11 per diluted share) compared to $6.4 million ($0.08 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2018. The Meet Group ended the quarter with $26.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.

“Strong execution in video continued to drive our business growth,” said Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group. “We grew revenue 22% from the prior year quarter to a new record high fueled by video revenue growth of 150% over the same period. We increased adjusted EBITDA by 29% and we generated $10.2 million in free cash flow – the highest quarterly free cash flow in our history.”

Image: The Meet Group

The Meet Group, the Pennsylvania-based parent to several dating and social networking apps, unveiled two new sets of features for its flagship dating and livestreaming platform, MeetMe.

The first updates focus on making MeetMe a safer, more welcoming and more inclusive space. The iOS and Android versions of the app now have a more prominent Report Abuse button - the largest, according to CEO Geoff Cook, seen in any major livestreaming app so far. When a user taps the button, a screengrab is automatically taken and sent to the company’s moderation team. The moderators can immediately review both the screengrab and the active livestream in order to take appropriate action.

The Meet Group, a portfolio of mobile social entertainment apps including MeetMe, LOVOO, Skout, Tagged and Growlr, released financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019. The company reported revenue of $49.5 million, an increase of $11.9 million (or 32 percent) from $37.6 million in the first quarter of 2018.

Other highlights from The Meet Group’s Q1 2019 financial report include:

• GAAP net income of $1.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $4.2 million, or a loss of $0.06 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $8.1 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million in the prior year quarter.
• Non-GAAP net income of $7.0 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.

Image: Sensor Tower

After more than two years in the top spot, Netflix is no longer the world’s highest-grossing non-gaming mobile app. That title now goes to Tinder, which grossed $260.7 million from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store in the first quarter of this year.

App store intelligence firm Sensor Tower recently released its rankings of the highest grossing apps in the United States and worldwide for Q1 2019. Overall, global app revenue reached $19.5 billion last quarter, up nearly 17 percent year-over-year. Consumer spending on Apple’s App Store totaled approximately $12.4 billion globally, while Google Play revenue grew 20.2 percent year-over-year to approximately $7.1 billion. The world is increasingly moving to mobile, and for companies that are prepared to capitalize on the change, the potential for profit is huge.

The Meet Group has acquired Growlr, a free dating platform for the gay bear community. Growlr joins MeetMe, Lovoo, Skout and Tagged in The Meet Group’s portfolio of mobile social entertainment apps, a move that marks the parent company’s first foray into the LGBTQ market.

The Meet Group acquired Growlr for $11.8 million using a combination of $4.8 million in cash and $7 million from its existing line of credit. The company pledged an additional $2 million to be paid in annual $1 million installments over the next years if certain revenue metrics are achieved. Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group who co-founded the company as MyYearbook.com in 2005, called the deal “a meaningful step into the large same-sex dating market.”

MeetMe Battles

The Meet Group, a portfolio of brands in the mobile social networking and entertainment space, is rolling out a new feature called Battles on its MeetMe and Skout apps.

“Battles brings an exciting competitive dynamic to Live, and we are thrilled to bring this new feature to our users,” said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. “We believe that the addition of Battles will contribute to our growing video revenue run-rate, which exceeded $62 million annualized, based on the month of November, up from the $55 million number we reported in October. Momentum in video revenue has continued into December, and this past weekend we achieved the highest video revenue day in our history.”

Battles is The Meet Group’s latest bid to harness the power of streaming video. The feature brings together two livestreamers and their audiences for a live showdown. The competitors can challenge each other in a variety of categories ranging from music, to dance, to comedy and more. Each battle lasts only a few minutes. The winner is the streamer who earns the most diamonds by receiving gifts from viewers during the battle.