STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP)—Music streaming giant Spotify said Tuesday that it had 713 million active users at the end of the third quarter, while paying subscribers rose 12 percent to reach 281 million.

Revenue rose by seven percent to 4.3 billion euros ($4.9 billion), beating the company’s guidance of 4.2 billion euros.

The increase was driven by the growth of its paying subscribers and despite a decline in advertising, the Swedish company said.

“The business is healthy,” Spotify’s Founder and CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement.

“It all comes back to user fundamentals and that’s where we are: 700 million users who keep coming back, engagement at all-time highs,” he added.

Operating income rose 28 percent to 582 million euros, while net income more than doubled to 899 million euros.

Spotify also said it was expecting to reach 745 million active users and 289 million paying subscribers by the end of the year.

In late September, Spotify announced that Ek would be stepping down as CEO on January 1 and would become executive chairman.

Gustav Soderstrom, the company’s chief product and technology officer, and chief business officer Alex Norstrom would take over as co-CEOs.

Ek co-founded Spotify with Martin Lorentzon in 2006.