With fourth quarter net losses widening by some 35 percent, spoken word Web publisher Audible Inc. said today it had reworked its marketing deal with Amazon.com to save more than $7 million.
The original agreement, struck on January 31, 2000, required Audible to pay Amazon.com a minimum of $10 million in 2002, but the company said the amount has been reduced to a future minimum cash commitment of $2.5 million through 2002.
The deal allowed the New Jersey-based Audible to hawk downloadable spoken word products to Amazon.com’s 30 million customers.
Audible CEO Donald Katz said the reworked Amazon deal, coupled with reduced quarter-to-quarter operating expenses, will have a positive effect on the company’s business plan.
For the fourth quarter of 2000, Audible’s net losses reached $7.1 million (27 cents per share), 34 per cent wider than the $5.3 million losses posted during the same year-ago quarter. Last year, the company’s net loss was pegged at 21 cents per share.
The company’s revenues during the quarter was $1.8 million, up from $420,000 raked in during 1999’s fourth quarter.
Audible’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $16.2 million on December 31, 2000.