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State of the Opera: Q3 2010
The financial results for the third quarter of 2010 were announced today.
Even though the currency situation is still affecting our revenue, we managed to deliver solid revenue and profits, making this our best quarter ever.
Even though the currency situation is still affecting our revenue, we managed to deliver solid revenue and profits, making this our best quarter ever.
- Record quarter, with highest ever revenue and profits
- Total revenue grew by 32% compared to the same quarter in 2009 (35% on a constant currency basis)
- Expenses were up only 3%
- Desktop revenue increased by 41%
- Internet Devices revenue increased by 32%
- Opera Mini revenue has doubled since Q4-2009 (in less than a year)
- Desktop revenue is higher than expected due to higher ARPU
- We have added around 50 million users of Opera products during the last 12 months
- There are more than 140 million Opera users in total (which means that Opera's total and global market share is about 7%)
- There have been fluctuations in desktop user numbers due to seasonal variations, but the number of desktop users is now back above 50 million
- There are currently 75 million Opera Mini users
- The Opera Mini user base has grown by 100% since Q3-2009
- We have around 9 million users of Opera Mini in India, a growth of 200%
- There were 7.5 million users in the quarter that were on operator-branded or co-branded versions of Opera Mini (488% growth)
- 2.2 million operator users were added in the quarter
- Revenue from mobile operators is continuing becoming a bigger and bigger part of the total revenue, while revenue from NRE is declining as part of the total revenue, as we are focusing more and more on standardized products
AdMarvel has contributed positively to the quarter, with higher revenues than expected. We also expect AdMarvel to contribute significantly to Opera's revenue in the future. AdMarvel will also offer new revenue opportunities from operator customers, for example through things like the Open Mobile Ad Exchange. Other new services will offer new revenue opportunities as well.
Opera Mobile for Android was mentioned as being important to Opera, and we will need additional ways to differentiate ourselves from the competition. We are also working on a new version of Opera Mini for the iPhone, but no date has been announced for that.
The guidance for the last quarter of 2010 was also updated to indicate higher revenues than previously expected.
Readers' comments 20
Left under the original article, as archived.
About this article
| Published in | A Journal from Behind the Trenches |
|---|---|
| Date | November 15, 2010 |
| Author | Haavard |
| Tags | opera, financials |
| Original | Internet Archive |
Mağruf ÇolakoğluMonday, November 15, 2010 1:35:49 PM
Florin IacobMonday, November 15, 2010 1:36:52 PM
MorphdreamerMonday, November 15, 2010 1:42:14 PM
Lorenz Cuno KlopfensteinMonday, November 15, 2010 2:21:58 PM
berend ytsmaMonday, November 15, 2010 3:55:40 PM
How about a bada browser
Charles SchlossMonday, November 15, 2010 4:04:41 PM
d4rkn1ghtMonday, November 15, 2010 5:47:47 PM
WildEnteMonday, November 15, 2010 8:52:48 PM
If you say desktop user numbers, it sounds like folks prefer Opera over Chrome in winter but the other way around in summer. Could you expand a bit on the seasonal dependence of desktop browser usage?
Cutting SpoonMonday, November 15, 2010 10:20:08 PM
Rafael LuikTuesday, November 16, 2010 3:03:10 AM
I hope the long-awaited update to the iPhone version is arriving soon for these users.
Charles SchlossTuesday, November 16, 2010 5:59:33 AM
Originally posted by rafaelluik:
I wonder if it will hit top of the app store in every country again
side note
I got notification for new comments in the email like this sometimes
Rafael LuikTuesday, November 16, 2010 7:30:47 AM
ChirpieTuesday, November 16, 2010 10:28:37 AM
Originally posted by ytsmabeer:
How would that help Opera differentiate itself on Android?Cutting SpoonTuesday, November 16, 2010 10:27:23 PM
If I understand correctly, Desktop has been the test platform for JIT proofing and new server component. Devices/Mobile and now Mini are incorporating hardware acceleration first, but I assume this also will make its way into Core...? Makes good sense to split prototyping based on device requirements.
Pallab DeFriday, November 19, 2010 6:21:00 AM
Originally posted by haavard:
LOL, hadn't noticed this earlier. Favbrowser pointed it out ( http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FavoriteBrowser/~3/H_chhRN-52U/ ).
This is beyond silly. Obviously the desktop users figure is disappointing, but there is no need to give such a silly excuse. Anything but an increase in the no. of users every quarter (esp for the desktop market where Opera is lagging behind), is a failure. Even if the user share remains constant thats a big disappointment.
But you guys are making it appear that maintaining status quo alone is enough, and the marginal dip is just the weather!
HaavardFriday, November 19, 2010 6:30:17 AM
I realize that not everyone is educated enough about economics and such, but I would recommend at least looking up terms you don't understand before jumping to conclusions.
As I pointed out, the lower desktop numbers were temporary, and they are now back above 50 million. If you compare the numbers to the same quarter last year, there is a clear increase.
In the future, kindly take the time to look up things you don't understand before commenting. I don't particularly enjoy being misrepresented, and will not accept such behavior in my blog again.
Pallab DeFriday, November 19, 2010 1:29:20 PM
Nevertheless, my main point is that Opera's desktop stats are disappointing. Seasonal variations will only come into play if Opera's no. of users have been reasonably static in the first place. And that alone is disappointing enough. If maintaining status-quo is all you guys aim for, then I have nothing to say. Otherwise, Opera should be looking to gain millions of new users every quarter, which should be able to offfset any seasonal fluctuation. And if that is indeed the case, then you should also have the guts to say that the results have been disappointing if you fail to gain new users. Don't blame it on seasonal fluctuations, which is generally minor enough to be compensated by a million or so new users.
Btw, how come when Opera gained users in previous quarters, you didn't attribute that to seasonal variations? Also, I still am not convinced about seasonal variations in this case. Internet penetration is increasing every day, and the no. of new internet users, should offset seasonal variations on the global internet using population. If Opera is loosing out, that again means that it is failing to reach out to new users.
I am not an Opera hater. I guess you should know that by now. Neither do I have any grudge against you. Most of the times I am fully in favour of you. However, when I am not, I hope you can atleast try and understand what I am saying, instead of writing "will not accept such behavior in my blog again".
P.S.: Sorry for the snide weather jab. I guess, I could have omitted that.
HaavardFriday, November 19, 2010 3:36:09 PM
Originally posted by Indyan:
That is not necessarily the case. You need to look at the distribution of users in different markets. Opera is very strong in some markets, and weaker in others. On the other hand, browsers that get help from monopolies to grow are usually more equally strong everywhere. Thus, Opera will be affected to a larger degree by things happening in markets it has a large user base in (compared to Opera's overall user base).Originally posted by Indyan:
No, because the user base is still bigger in Q3 2010 than it was in Q3 2009. This is exactly why comparing it to quarters or months immediately preceding or following it is not a good way to measure growth.Originally posted by Indyan:
No, these variations are not necessarily minor. For example, some businesses rely to a large degree on Christmas sales to stay in business. To these businesses, the seasonal variations are critically important. Opera does not depend on specific parts of the year as such, but it is simply not correct to deny the well known concept of seasonal variations. You cannot claim that they are minor without any data to back this up. The actual data shows a low point in July, and steady growth after that.Originally posted by Indyan:
The growth was not mere seasonal variation, since the trend over time has been a growing user base. It has also been a matter of announcing new highs in user numbers, even if they could fluctuate for shorter periods of time. For example, there was a spike of users in March this year which set a new record for the number of monthly users.July marked the "bottom" since March. After that, it has been climbing steadily again.
Over time, the user base is growing. Looking at short term fluctuations is simply not very useful. I mentioned seasonal variations to prevent people from misinterpreting limited data in the wrong way.
And yes, snide jabs are exactly what I will not tolerate. And basing your opinions on tabloid misrepresentations on some site is not really a good thing if you want to avoid crossing the line.
KamaleshFriday, November 26, 2010 2:52:29 AM
Unfortunately, even tech journalists are rather clueless about browser issues, monopoly bundling, site patching, browser-sniffing by Google on their Instant site, effects of caching, pre-fetching, geographies and user-agent string parsing on browser stats...I could go on.
The FUD is really thick. Meanwhile, letting Opera 11, Opera Mini and Mobile innovations speak for themselves will only make more people take notice, I think...
Cutting SpoonMonday, November 29, 2010 1:33:35 AM
For several years now The Register has remarked on what percentage of Firefox revenue comes from Google. And there is a certain uptick of Firefox users as college begins, since many in the US bundle Firefox with student laptops. Perhaps Opera could similarly benefit from more Campus Crew activity?