Photo by Donnie Weatherhead

The daily deals and lifestyle company LivingSocial continues to lose money, but at least for its shareholders those losses appear to be slowing down. The company posted a $44 million operating loss in the first quarter of 2013, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

LivingSocial is privately held, but online retail behemoth Amazon, which is publicly traded, owns a 29 percent stake and lists the results of its investment in the D.C.-based company on its quarterly SEC statements. Although LivingSocial posted another loss, its first-quarter setback was less than half of last year’s when it reported an operating loss of $91 million. It finished 2012 with overall losses of $650 million.

The company also reported $135 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2013, up from $110 million over the same period last year. That’s a move in the right direction for LivingSocial, which formerly enjoyed a reputation as the symbol of D.C.’s burgeoning high-tech industry. After swelling to more than 5,000 worldwide employees at one point, it shed a significant portion of its payroll last year when it laid off 400 people, including 160 of roughly 1,000 who work in D.C.

LivingSocial is also the beneficiary of a tax incentive deal Mayor Vince Gray signed last year that will give it a $32.5 million break if it goes into effect. However, in order to take advantage of the tax break, LivingSocial must first show profitability.

Amazon also reported that it invested another $56 million in LivingSocial during the first quarter. LivingSocial raised $110 million during a funding round in February, which was reported by some to be a company-saving emergency. The company disputed the direness of its latest round of financing, while LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy told employees he expects the company to finally become profitable later this year.

LivingSocial did not respond to requests for comment on the Amazon filing.