Pandora Expects To Exceed Q4 Revenue Guidance; To Cut 7% Jobs

(RTTNews) - Pandora Media Inc. (P) said that it expects to exceed previously announced the fourth-quarter of 2016 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges citing strong advertising performance and has surpassed 4.3 million in paid subscription customers. It plans to reduce its U.S. employee base, excluding Ticketfly, by approximately 7 percent by the end of Q1 2017.

P closed Thursday's regular trading at $12.00, up $0.11 or 0.93 percent. In the after-hours trading, the stock further gained $0.94 or 7.83 percent.

"During the fourth quarter, we accelerated our core advertising business, increased advertising RPM and saw strong improvements in adjusted EBITDA," said Tim Westergren, CEO of Pandora.

As a result of its direct deals with music labels and publishers, Pandora introduced Pandora Plus along with new features and functionality on its ad-supported tier to listeners at the end of the third quarter. By the end of December 2016, the product generated more than 375,000 net new subscribers.

Pandora said it is also undertaking operational efficiency measures to reduce overall operating costs in 2017. It plans to reduce its U.S. employee base (excluding Ticketfly) by approximately 7 percent by the end of the first-quarter 2017. Additionally, the company is leveraging its analytics platform and ad insertion logic to drive additional revenue and realize leverage in content costs.

"2016 was a year of significant investment for Pandora. In 2017, we will manage the business toward full year adjusted EBITDA profitability," said Westergren.