Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy To Step Down After Company Cites Record Revenue, Audience ... And Greater Losses

Joe Kennedy

PANDORA MEDIA CEO JOE KENNEDY is leaving the company, although he will stay on in the role until a successor is found, CNBC reports. The news comes on the heels of the latest listenership metrics and Q4 and 2012 revenue report, which showed record increases in audience and revenue -- while at the same time reporting losses that more than doubled over the past year.

In what has become a familiar refrain, PANDORA'S just released listenership metrics and Q4 and 2012 revenue report shows record increases in audience and revenue -- while at the same time, the company's reported loss more than doubled over the past year.

Listener hours for PANDORA during the month of FEBRUARY 2013 were 1.38 billion, an increase of 42% from 975 million during the same period last year. Share of total U.S. radio listening in FEBRUARY 2013 was 8.48%, an increase from 5.74%. Active listeners were 67.7 million at the end of FEBRUARY 2013, an increase of 37%.

On the financial side, fiscal 2013 revenue of $427.1 million grew 56% year-over-year; 4Q13 total revenue of $125.1 million grew 54% year-over-year. Total mobile revenue in 4Q was $80.3 million, a 111% year-over-year, outpacing mobile listener hour growth, which grew 70% year-over-year. Total mobile revenue for the full year more than doubled to $255.9 million, outpacing mobile listener hour growth, which grew 89% over the year.

Unfortunately, content acquisition costs grew so much that PANDORA reported a net loss of $14.5 million in Q4 and a loss of $38.1 million over the entire year -- that latter more than doubled 2012's loss of $16.1 million

Nonetheless, KENNEDY looked at the positive signs, noting, "We continue to monetize mobile at record levels and exceeded our expectations for the quarter. We closed the year with a record 8% share of total U.S. radio listening and record mobile monetization that cemented our leadership in mobile advertising.  We have completed our technology integration with radio ad buying platforms and are rolling it out to the market. PANDORA has been hiring top talent in local radio markets to further increase our share of the $15 billion radio ad market.  We are now effectively the largest radio station in almost every major market and begin fiscal year 2014 with extraordinary momentum."

You can crunch its numbers here.

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