Blue Apron reported a steep second-quarter loss on Thursday as the meal-kit delivery company spends heavily to recruit new customers.

Although the number of customers rose 23 percent year over year, the company said its client base shrank by 9 percent between the first and second quarter due to a planned $26.1 million reduction in marketing expenses.

Here’s a quick look at the earnings report, Blue Apron’s first since going public in late June.

• EPS: loss of 47 cents per share, versus expected loss of 30 cents per share;
• Revenue: $238.1 million, versus forecast of $235.8 million.

Since Blue Apron’s IPO, analysts have questioned whether the company can cut its marketing spending and work to better retain customers. In 2016, Blue Apron had spent about 18 percent of its $795.4 million revenue on marketing. In the latest quarter, Blue Apron cut it to 14.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the company said its average revenue per customer increased to $251 for the second quarter, up from $236 in the previous quarter, but below $264 in the previous year. This helped boost the company’s revenue 18 percent to $238.1 million for the quarter, beating analyst exceptions.

The company posted a loss of $31.6 million, or 47 cents per share. Analysts had expected the company to post a loss of 30 cents per share on $235.8 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.

Before the opening bell on Thursday, shares wavered between positive and negative territory.

Blue Apron shares have struggled since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange on June 29. The company began trading at about $10 per share, and briefly rose to around $11. However, it closed a penny below its opening price and has fallen more than 37 percent since then. On Wednesday, it closed at $6.24, up about 7 percent for the day.

“We recently strengthened our balance sheet as a result of our initial public offering, convertible note issuance and the expansion of our revolving credit facility,” CEO Matt Salzberg said in a statement. “We are beginning a new chapter as a public company, and remain focused on our long-term strategy to build an iconic consumer brand, develop a more diverse product portfolio, and further build out an end-to-end supply chain platform.”

Source: Tech CNBC
Blue Apron posts a wider-than-expected loss despite an 18% revenue jump