Shares of Blue Apron spiked 9 percent on Tuesday after the company posted smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on the back of operational improvements at its fulfillment center in New Jersey.
The company said its net loss narrowed to $39.1 million, or 20 cents per share, narrower than the loss of $26.07 million, or down 39 cents per share, last year.
Analysts had expected Blue Apron to report a loss of 27 cents per share during the quarter.
Revenue fell 13 percent in the quarter to $187.7 million, due to a decrease in customers and orders as Blue Apron scaled back its marketing efforts.
Last quarter, then-CFO Brad Dickerson said that the company would continue to shrink its marketing costs in the fourth quarter, which would likely lead to less revenue.
The company spent $25.2 million, or 13.4 percent of revenue, on marketing in the fourth quarter. In the same period last year, Blue Apron spent $37.1 million on marketing, or 17.2 percent of its revenue.
Blue Apron said that its number of customers fell 15 percent year-over-year and fell 13 percent from the prior quarter.
Average revenue per customer increased to $248 from $246 from the same time last year.
Blue Apron has been struggling to overcome several well-publicized operational issues that have dragged its stock down more than 66 percent since it first started trading in late June. Shares have slipped from $11 to just under $4 during that time frame.
Dickerson took over the post of CEO in late November. This will be his first earnings since taking over the executive position.
