Online restaurant reservation site OpenTable has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in hopes of raising as much as $40 million on the market.
The company, which works with restaurants to peddle reservations to users over the 'net, was founded in 1998. It employs 292 people.
Restaurants pay a subscription fee, a reservation fee for each reservation made via OpenTable, and in same cases an installation fee — which enables them to integrate their reservation system with OpenTable's. Meanwhile, consumers pay nothing for the reservation service.
TechCrunch posted a scanned copy of the IPO prospectus, which for the first time reveals the particulars of OpenTable's balance sheet.
Highlights:
- Revenue in the nine months ending September 30, 2008 totaled $41.3 million, a 41% rise from the same period in 2007.
- Revenue broke down thus: 54% was made up of subscription fees, 42% from reservation fees, and 4% from installation fees.
- Operating profit was $261,000, but $149,000 in net income was lost.
- Cash on hand totals $17.4 million.
The company is just exploring its opportunities on international shores, which accounted for a great deal of expense through 2008. Operating income in North America was $6.8 million in the nine months ending September 30, while an operating loss of $6.5 million was absorbed internationally.
As of September 30, OpenTable served reservations across 9709 restaurants worldwide — of which 8788 are in North America. Total diners seated in the first nine months of last year was 25.5 million, a 45% increase from the year prior.
If its prospectus is well-received, IPO financing will likely fuel international expansion.
