Photo via RealNetworks Twitter.
Photo via RealNetworks Twitter.

RealNetworks, the personal digital media company founded by entrepreneur Rob Glaser 22 years ago, closed 2015 with an $8.4 million loss, it reported today in an SEC filing.

While RealNetworks beat analyst expectations for fourth quarter earnings, posting $29.9 million in revenue and a loss of $0.23 per share, it still ended the year with a $81.8 million net loss.

Wall Street predicted only $28.06 million in revenue and a loss of $0.48 per share.

This difficult quarter came on top of a difficult year for RealNetworks. Company revenue dropped $900,000 since the third quarter and a year-to-year comparison shows a drop in revenue totaling $30.9 million for the full year.

As RealNetworks’ revenue dropped, its net losses increased. Net loss for the quarter was $8.4 million, bringing the net loss for 2015 to $81.8 million — $10 million more than RealNetworks’ net loss in 2014. This caused a loss of $2.26 per share for the year, compared to last year’s loss of $2.00 per share.

In recent months, RealNetworks has undergone some major changes. It sold Slingo and its social casino games business during the third quarter of 2015. RealNetworks also went through a small number of layoffs and is adjusting to CEO, Rob Glaser, who returned to the role in the summer of 2014. Glaser said, in the SEC filing, that it had been a “transition year.”

“2015 was an important transition year for RealNetworks, with significant successes,” said Glaser in a release. “Our revenue is stabilizing and we’ve set the stage for growth in 2016.  By rationalizing our costs and cutting our losses significantly, we are also positioned for a return to profitability.”

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Founded in 1994, RealNetworks invented the streaming media category and since has come out with a number of products aimed toward connecting people to digital media on their chosen devices and platforms, including its product, RealPlayer, which streams audio and video.

In May of 2015, it rolled out an app to create video and photo stories, called RealTimes. At the most recent CES conference in January of 2016, it announced an embedded device called RealMedia that can be put into chipsets to improve mobile video streaming.

Also in its SEC filing, RealNetworks announced a new mobile carrier partnership for RealTimes with Verizon and KDDI that Glaser hopes will return the company to profitability.

“[W]e’re gaining traction with big tier 1 carriers around the world for our carrier-oriented products, such as RealTimes and Listen Ring Back Tones,” Glaser said.

“At the same time, we’ve simplified and focused our games business, going back to our roots in Casual Games and setting it up for sustained growth…We are also pleased with 45% subscriber growth in 2015 at the Rhapsody music service, in which we play a significant role and have a large [45 percent] ownership stake.”

Today, RealNetworks is valued at $120 million and shares dipped nearly 5 percent today, trading at $3.25 per share. In the last year, its stock has dropped 54 percent.

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