State of the Opera: Q1 2011

May 11, 2011 · by Haavard

The financial results for the 1st quarter of 2011 are in. Once again, this was a record quarter for Opera Software. Even with the negative currency situation, the quarter resulted in record revenue and profitability.

Best quarter ever when it comes to revenue and profitability
Total revenue increased by 37% compared to the same quarter 2010 (it would have been 40% if exchange rates had been the same as before)
Desktop revenue increased 36%
Internet Devices revenue increased 37%
Opera now has more than 185 million users
106 million Opera Mini users
55 million desktop users in April (highest ever number of desktop users for Opera)
20 million Opera Mobile users (strong growth on Android and S60)
An additional 15 million users of Opera Mini from operator deals ("operator users")
4 million new operator users in the quarter
ARPU for operator users around $2
445% operator user growth from March 2010 to March 2011
74% revenue growth from operator users compared to Q1 2010
Humax, one of the world's largest STB manufactorers chose Opera. Among other things, the new Opera Devices SDK includes a new SVG engine which is up to 10 times faster than before
On a constant currency basis, financial guidance numbers for this year were raised, but slightly down in practice due to currency situation
There will be a lot of focus on monetization during the Capital Markets Day in New York
There were 743 employees at the end of Q1 2011
Opera Mobile Store: More than 18M visitors in March, and more than 19M downloads
Stronger revenue from AdMarvel than expected

Readers' comments 26

Left under the original article, as archived.

HurrWednesday, May 11, 2011 2:54:34 PM
Sounds absolutely great!
Mağruf ÇolakoğluWednesday, May 11, 2011 3:15:19 PM
exterminansWednesday, May 11, 2011 3:20:49 PM
Nice :-D

I'm sure if you get the bug count down and keep it that way the desktop browser can finally leave that 2% usage share area where it just doesn't belong.

Good to see though that you (as a company) get something back for all the hard work and good ideas.
huxrWednesday, May 11, 2011 3:45:47 PM
Originally posted by exterminans:

I'm sure if you get the bug count down and keep it that way the desktop browser can finally leave that 2% usage share area where it just doesn't belong.

While low bug impact is preferable, it does not result in significant market share rise.

What does have that result is successful mass distribution through appropriate channels.

M$ has Windows for IE, Firefox had (but no longer has) Google, Firefox still has massive user-to-user distribution and press presence due to this and extensions. Chrome has Google. Safari has Apple Macs and iDevices.

Opera has...? (Opera Mini has massive user base due to being early on the scene, high ranking on vendor- and operator app stores, and some operator and OEM channels. Opera Mobile and Desktop don't have such strong distribution channels as far as I see.)

Opera Desktop and Mobile could be distributed by much more wirelss carriers for mobile internet on laptops and smart devices.
Also by wired ISPs.
Also by OEMs.
Also by large media conglomerate sites.

Opera is a commercial entity that is able do all sorts of these agreements.

I think Opera should go for all the 'big fish' in distribution.
Charles SchlossWednesday, May 11, 2011 3:48:24 PM
d4rkn1ghtWednesday, May 11, 2011 5:47:30 PM
mathiaz83Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:12:53 PM
I am sorry, but how many users do you have on devices? isnt this 10-15 million? So you have more than 200 million users. Correct?
Charles SchlossWednesday, May 11, 2011 8:37:36 PM
mathiaz83

106 million Opera Mini users
55 million desktop users in April
20 million Opera Mobile users
An additional 15 million users of Opera Mini from operator deals ("operator users")
mathiaz83Wednesday, May 11, 2011 9:06:50 PM
Yes, but you are missing "devices" i.e. Opera on TV and boxes. In Q4 they were estimated to make out 10 million, which would effectively give Opera about 206 million users, minimum.
mathiaz83Wednesday, May 11, 2011 9:13:53 PM
Also, the numbers for Opera Mini users and Opera Mini Operator deals do not add up. This is because both categories include co-branded users, hence one of the numbers should be lower. At least that is my understanding when reading the presentation and Q1 report.
JimWednesday, May 11, 2011 10:37:48 PM
Originally posted by mathiaz83:

Yes, but you are missing "devices" i.e. Opera on TV and boxes. In Q4 they were estimated to make out 10 million, which would effectively give Opera about 206 million users, minimum.

Didn't they make a deal to supply the browser for one of Ford's cars?

I think Opera should combine or standardize the Skin/Unite/Widget/Extension installation sites.

That and reach out to companies like Tweetdeck to create widgets or add an offline/online app feature for them.

I went threw the Chromeapp store and people are creating features to emulate things Opera already has natively like image properties in the context menu.

The bookmarks need an update too. Many problems make them very difficult to deal with.
ChrisThursday, May 12, 2011 7:18:01 AM
Originally posted by mathiaz83:

This is because both categories include co-branded users
Source?
Henri SivonenThursday, May 12, 2011 8:19:54 AM
"55 million desktop users in April"

Does this mean 55 million unique users seen during April?

Do you publish numbers of active daily users?
ChrisThursday, May 12, 2011 8:39:43 AM
Originally posted by hsivonen:

Do you publish numbers of active daily users?
Won't that be a very unstable number with a lot of fluctuations? Everyone else does monthly numbers.
Henri SivonenThursday, May 12, 2011 9:51:21 AM
Originally posted by Slamdex:

Originally posted by hsivonen:
Do you publish numbers of active daily users?
Won't that be a very unstable number with a lot of fluctuations? Everyone else does monthly numbers.

Mozilla tracks "active daily users". And yes, it fluctuates.
mathiaz83Thursday, May 12, 2011 12:13:55 PM
Source is the Q1 presentation from Opera. You can find it under investor relations. It states so clearly when they list the users. You can also get numbers verified by looking into the financial report as well.
ChrisThursday, May 12, 2011 3:15:31 PM
What page of the presentation?
Cutting SpoonFriday, May 13, 2011 1:46:19 AM
Thanks for keeping us updated when new finance reports come out. I am amazed that Mozilla still has not released a 2010 report.

I've just skimmed through the report, and I've got a couple of thoughts. First, is there any chance that Opera's browser could get into the Expressgate/Splashtop type of products? Second, is there any momentum toward seeing more Android devices preinstalled with Opera? (There was much press about the HTC Hero, it is a good device and it sold well but what about now?)
mathiaz83Friday, May 13, 2011 9:34:42 AM
Really Chris??? Just look it up man, its not like it is a 3000-page presentation filled back to back with long sentences.

I draw my conclusions from the statement below, added under the numbers. As you can see, both numbers include Operator co-branded agreements.From page 18:

*Operator-branded + Opera/Operator co-branded agreements. Unaudited.
**Includes the co-branded operator users. Unaudited.

Also, in the presentation they say 20 million Opera mobile users, and in the report 15 million.
ChirpieFriday, May 13, 2011 12:50:12 PM
Originally posted by mathiaz83:

Also, in the presentation they say 20 million Opera mobile users, and in the report 15 million.
The report is referring to the number of users in Q1, while the presentation is referring to the number of Opera Mobile users "today" (after Q1).
mathiaz83Friday, May 13, 2011 1:43:49 PM
So, the number of Opera Mobile users increased by 33% from March to April? I find that rather hard to believe. And if it is the case, it is HUGE news!
ChirpieFriday, May 13, 2011 3:00:14 PM
Originally posted by mathiaz83:

So, the number of Opera Mobile users increased by 33% from March to April?
Not necessarily. The 15 million figure could be a bit outdated, for example. It was reported a few months ago or so, after all. It could be that they didn't have any data between then and the latest 20 million figure.
mathiaz83Saturday, May 14, 2011 11:59:24 AM
Thanks Chirpie
Martin RauscherSaturday, May 14, 2011 1:57:17 PM
I want a list of all TVs with built in Opera!!!
zeedTuesday, May 24, 2011 7:32:00 PM
jim chris charles schloss z@h3k
Ingo Neitzke | ineitzkeSunday, June 12, 2011 11:24:36 PM
Haavard,

Congratulations!

Nevertheless, negative currency situations are deceit at all hard working people. Here is an idea: MonNetA.org (english: ez.com/idea1)