Bumble posts quarterly sales drop amid slow payoff from app overhaul

(Reuters) -Bumble posted on Wednesday its first decline in quarterly sales since going public in 2021 and said that it would take longer for the dating app operator to boost its sluggish growth rate.

Sticky inflation and high borrowing costs have hit spending by users on the women-centric dating app and its premium subscriptions, limiting the company's growth after a post-pandemic boom.

In response, the company has launched a refreshed Bumble app and new features. A cut to its annual revenue forecast in August, however, sparked concerns over the turnaround plans.

"These investments and our ecosystem initiatives, including product releases, will take time to translate to meaningful revenue growth," said CFO Anu Subramanian.

Bumble's bigger rival, Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, missed market estimates for third-quarter revenue on Wednesday due to weak spending by users on its dating apps.

Bumble said total paying users across its apps increased to 4.3 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from 3.8 million a year earlier.

Its revenue for the third quarter fell 0.7% to $273.6 million but beat analysts' average estimate of $271.9 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company surged nearly 9% before turning flat in volatile extended trading.

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $256 million and $262 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $260.2 million.

The company expects fiscal 2024 revenue to be between $1.06 billion and $1.07 billion, which is in line with estimates.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)