Spotify Ltd financials reveal narrowing losses

Spotify Ltd’s revenues grew from £63.2m in 2010 to 95.5m in 2011, while the company’s operating loss fell from £26.5m to £2.1m in the same period, according to accounts filed by the company in the UK.

Subscriptions were what fuelled Spotify’s growth: while ad revenues rose 24.2% to £22.4m in 2011, subscription revenues grew by 60.8% to £72.5m – 75.9% of the UK arm’s revenues.

There is some interesting things going on in the accounts, though. Spotify Ltd’s profit after tax for 2012 was £21m versus a loss of £26.5m in 2010.

That includes a £24.4m ‘gain on sale of intangible asset’, which is explained elsewhere in the accounts as a “sale of the Intangible property related to Spotify’s technical platform and trademarks to Spotify AB” – the parent company.

Money is moving around the group, then, but the stat we’ll focus on is the fact that in 2011, Spotify Ltd’s revenues (£95.5m) were more than its cost of sales (£81.8m – a figure that includes royalty payments) for the first time. A reason for cautious optimism about its business model, even if that cost of sales is still more than 85% of revenues.

It’s important to remember that Spotify Ltd is just one part of the company, covering the UK and some European markets. As we reported earlier this year, the parent group’s 2011 financials are already public: revenues of €187.8m and a net loss of €45.4m.

Against that backdrop, Spotify Ltd’s accounts merely confirm some trends we already know about: the continuing shift from ads to subscriptions, and signs that the company itself may have a sustainable business.

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