After the markets closed on Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, WM Technology, Inc. (Weedmaps) (Nasdaq: MAPS) announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, and the full year ending December 31, 2023.

Weedmaps had previously announced that its earnings would be delayed due to personnel changes in its executive finance leadership and improperly recognized revenue.

“With the filing of our 10-K and 10-Q, we will be current with our SEC and Nasdaq listing requirements and look forward to resuming our quarterly reporting cadence,” said Susan Echard, Interim CFO of WM Technology. “Building upon our progress in 2023, we are excited to see the effects of our streamlining efforts with year-over-year improvements to our Adjusted EBITDA and cash balance during the first quarter.”

Revenue decline

Weedmaps told investors that revenue for the first quarter fell to $44.4 million versus $46.4 million in the first quarter of 2023. The company attributed the decline to clients who continue to face constrained marketing budgets and the ongoing consolidation of the industry.

The company reported that the average monthly paying clients of 4,937 was down from 5,641 in the prior year period, largely due to the removal of non-paying clients and from the loss of certain clients following the discontinuation of certain SaaS products in the fourth quarter of 2023.

With the removal of those deadbeat clients and the closing of those SaaS products, the average monthly revenue per paying client increased to $2,997 from $2,743 in the prior year period.

“I am proud of the progress and results our team was able to deliver to start the year, and more importantly, we are pleased that the net effects of our revenue recognition review were relatively minimal,” stated Doug Francis, Executive Chair of WM Technology. “We believe our continued focus on developing strong client relationships and commitment to operational efficiency have positioned the company to continue to profitably build its base of quality clients in this dynamic industry over time.” Francis was once the company’s CEO and Weedmaps has been without a formal CEO since the previous CEO Chris Beals left in November 2022.

On a positive note, net income increased to $2 million versus last year’s net loss of $4 million. Cash increased to $35.7 million as of March 31, 2024, versus $25.9 million from March 31, 2023.

2023 earnings

Weedmaps reported that revenue was $188.0 million for 2023 versus $215.5 million in 2022. The average monthly paying clients was 5,419, versus 5,457 in the prior year. The average monthly revenue per paying client was $2,891, as compared to $3,291 in the prior year.

The net loss improved to $15.7 million in 2023 versus a net loss of $82.7 million in 2022. The company had cash of $34.4 million at the end of 2023 and an accumulated deficit of $63 million.

Weedmaps has also cut back on its employees. It ended 2022 with 580 full-time employees and now the company is down to 440 full-time employees.

The company reported that it continues to address the complaint about the monthly active user metric with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The employees testified to the SEC in July and August of 2023 and Weedmaps says it is cooperating with the investigation but warned investors there could still be penalties or sanctions in the future.

CFO switch

Part of the delay in filing the company’s earnings was the switch of CFO’s. On July 20, 2023, Mary Hoitt was appointed as interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in an executive agreement between the company and CFO service company SeatonHill Partners. Then on February 26, 2024, SeatonHill informed Weedmaps that it was removing Ms. Hoitt as the CFO Partner and replacing her with Susan Echard, a partner at SeatonHill, effective immediately.

Weedmaps disclosed in February that it would pay SeatonHill a retainer of $60,000 a month, or at the option of the company, $3,000 per day.