There was just over two billion kroner - 194 million euros - in operating loss on the last line of Spotify's interim report for the second quarter.

This is in sharp contrast to the profit of 12 million euros in the corresponding quarter last year.

Deterioration in results was expected.

But not so much.

Analysts on average had expected a loss of 153.4 million euros, according to a compilation of forecasts made by Bloomberg.

Beat expectations

But perhaps the most important metric for the growth company – a world-leading player in streaming music and podcasts – is the number of monthly users.

And there, Spotify beat both its own and the market's expectations with flying colors.

The number of monthly users rose to 433 million, of which 188 million are so-called premium subscribers, according to Spotify's quarterly report.

Analysts on average had expected an increase to 429 million and 187 million premium subscribers.

"The net addition of 19 million is the largest so far in a second quarter," writes Spotify in the report on user growth.

Lyft for ad revenue

Spotify's turnover during the second quarter rose to 2.9 billion euros, compared to 2.3 billion in the corresponding quarter last year and an average forecast among analysts of 2.8 billion.

It was primarily a boost for advertising revenue that was behind the increased turnover, according to the quarterly report, with an annualized growth of 31 percent to 360 million euros.

Advertising revenue's share of total revenue has thus increased to a record level of 13 percent during the second quarter.

However, the gross margin is squeezed more than Spotify itself had expected, down to 24.6 percent, against the company's forecast of 25.2 percent.

The unexpectedly large loss stems, among other things, from non-recurring items, but also higher personnel costs as a result of an increased number of employees and higher advertising costs linked to campaigns for growth.

Spotify announced as recently as June that the growth rate in terms of personnel will decrease by 25 percent during the fall, while marketing activities will be reviewed.