Spotify rival Anghami reduces headcount by 22% as a part of ‘sustained give attention to profitability’
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MENA-focused music streaming service Anghami revealed its preliminary unaudited Q3 outcomes on Tuesday (November 15).
The platform noticed income leap 29% 12 months over 12 months in Q3 to $31.7 million, from $24.5 million in Q3 2021, pushed by elevated subscriptions.
It additionally posted 27% quarter-on-quarter development in subscription income, Anghami stated with out disclosing the precise figures.
For the quarter ended September 30, the corporate says that its gross revenue rose 13% versus Q2, which it attributed to an 8% improve in ARPU (common income per consumer).
Additionally inside the report, the corporate revealed that it has slashed its headcount by 22% and decreased its cloud computing prices by 19%.
The corporate didn’t disclose the precise variety of staff that it needed to let go.
As of the tip of 2021, Anghami had 174 full-time and part-time staff throughout Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai and Riyadh, in accordance with a June submitting.
A 22% discount in its headcount interprets to about 38 affected staff.
Anghami is the newest expertise firm to show to a headcount discount to cut back prices.
On-line buying large Amazon is predicted to make a 3% discount to its workforce, which interprets to round 10,000 jobs, whereas Fb mum or dad Meta is decreasing its personal workforce by round 13%, or 7,000 jobs.
“Given the influence of difficult macroeconomic situations, we needed to take some value disciplinary measures to enhance our bottom-line efficiency.”
Eddy Maroun, Anghami
Anghami on Tuesday acknowledged that it needed to take “robust measures” to take care of its profitability.
“Given the influence of difficult macroeconomic situations, we needed to take some value disciplinary measures to enhance our bottom-line efficiency,” Eddy Maroun, CEO and co-founder of Anghami, stated.
Following the announcement, Anghami’s shares fell 5% on Tuesday and slipped by one other 7% on Wednesday on the Nasdaq. The corporate floated on the Nasdaq in February following its merger with a particular objective acquisition firm (SPAC) referred to as Vistas Media Acquisition Firm.
In the meantime, Anghami says it additionally carried out vital organizational and infrastructure investments in latest quarters, permitting it to get a extra “environment friendly and streamlined group.”
Within the first half of the 12 months, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered agency had 1.28 million paying subscribers, up 41% from a 12 months earlier, which it attributed to “larger conversion charges of advertising-supported customers to paying subscribers, in addition to a better variety of lively customers”.
Its first-half income edged up 29% 12 months over 12 months to $21.1 million as the corporate is bullish on attaining “a file 12 months for Anghami in 2022”.
Anghami had earlier stated that “Arabic content material is vital” to its “future development.”
Final month, the corporate launched a worldwide competitors on TikTok referred to as “Sound of Saudi,” a expertise search inviting Saudis within the nation and around the globe to take part to showcase their expertise as singers, composers, producers, mixers, or instrumentalists.
Winners of the Saudi Music Fee-endorsed expertise search may have their authentic work produced and made obtainable by way of Anghami. The competition has to date obtained greater than 390 million views with 5 million engagements and over 25,000 entries.
Anghami provides that native artists have been the main focus of Highlight Occasions, which it purchased earlier this 12 months. Highlight Occasions, an organization that focuses on managing and executing reside occasions and live shows within the MENA area, is now Anghami’s arm for reside occasions and live shows.
The corporate is ready to open its first Anghami Lab Rooftop Lounge on Friday (November 18) as a part of the Riyadh Season 2022 points of interest situated within the Riyadh Boulevard Metropolis leisure hub of Merwas, the area’s greatest recording studios.
These ventures make Anghami extra enticing as a music firm amid reviews that its larger rival Spotify is contemplating shopping for the agency.
Earlier this month, Dubai-based Frankly journal and Arabian Enterprise reported that Spotify has proven curiosity in shopping for the corporate.
Frankly, citing a supply, stated “The concept was that Anghami would go public if Spotify confirmed curiosity in an acquisition, so a SPAC was proposed to hurry up the takeover”.Music Enterprise Worldwide