Better Collective exceeds 2023 revenue and EBITDA targets despite a stalling Q4
Affiliate giant struggles in final quarter with tough comparisons against World Cup and Ohio pre-registration as 2024 financial targets laid out
The post Better Collective exceeds 2023 revenue and EBITDA targets despite a stalling Q4 first appeared on EGR Intel.
Better Collective has posted flat Q4 revenue of €85.2m compared to Q4 2022’s return of €86.1m as the affiliate pointed to tough comparisons due to the World Cup and pre-registration for Ohio’s sports betting launch in January 2023.
The Danish firm noted that organic growth slipped 7% year on year (YoY), while on a constant currency basis, revenue was impacted by 2%.
However, recurring revenue increased by 15% to €47m, with Better Collective noting recurring revenue accounted for 56% of total revenue.
Group EBITDA before special items fell 16% from €35m to €30m during Q4 2023, with an EBITDA margin of 35%.
The affiliate put the decrease in EBITDA down to the transition to revenue share in the US and the difficult comparison from the Ohio sports betting launch pre-registration.
At group level, new depositing customers (NDCs) stood at 483,000, representing a 17% YoY drop from Q4 2022. Of those 483,000 NDCs, 80% were sent on revenue share contracts.
Better Collective said the affiliate sent more than 300,000 NDCs during the World Cup as the competition continued to represent tough comparisons.
Divisionally, the group’s paid media arm saw a 3% YoY fall in revenue to €26m, with Better Collective championing the flat performance due to the group being at “full force” during the 2022 World Cup and the Ohio pre-registration period.
Revenue from publishing remained flat, with Q4 2022 figures standing at €59.3m and Q4 2023 at €59.1m.
In North America, revenue decreased 23% YoY to €27m as the company highlighted its ongoing transition towards a revenue share model in the US.
EBITDA in the region fell drastically by 57% to €6.9m, with EBITDA margin landing at 25%.
NDCs in North America for the reporting period stood at 115,000, with 55% of those on revenue share contracts. Better Collective said that despite the transition to the new model, the North American business grew organically by 5% in 2023.
In Europe and the rest of the world, revenue grew 14% to €58.1m while EBITDA increased 17% to €22.6m.
Revenue for full-year 2023 stood at €326.7m, a 21% increase, while EBITDA rose by 31% to €111.1m, with an EBTIDA margin of 34%.
As a result, the affiliate exceeded its 2023 revenue target of €315m by €10m to €325m, with EBITDA also at the higher end of the target range – €105m-€115m.
Looking ahead to 2024, a revenue target has been set between €390m and €420m, which would signal growth of between 19% and 29%, while the EBITDA target stands to come in at €125m to €135m.
Better Collective also detailed a January trading update, in which revenue landed at €27m, implying a 27% YoY decrease for the Stockholm-listed firm.
The group said this was mainly impacted by tough comparisons of the Ohio sports betting launch in January 2023 and the revenue share transition.
Better Collective did point to a 12% revenue increase in Europe and the rest of the world, with the caveat of the same sports win margin as January 2023 being applied.
Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard praised the firm’s strong year which allowed the affiliate to continue on its path of being the industry’s top sports media group, highlighting the acquisition of seven businesses – Skycon, Playmaker HQ, Torcedores, Playmaker Capital and several sports media brands in the Nordics.
Søgaard said: “In 2023, a great team effort across the group secured a prosperous year marked by profitable growth, all while continuing our strategic investments to lay the foundation for the future.
“It brings me great satisfaction to witness the ongoing development of engaging sports content and the expansion of our audiences across our sports media brands, all while consistently providing value to our partners.
“2023 stands out as a year where we made significant progress towards our vision of becoming the leading digital sports media group.
“2023 was an acquisitive year for Better Collective, acquiring seven businesses for a consideration of up to €298m. These businesses and brands have their own stake in realising our vision to become the leading digital sports media group,” he added.
The post Better Collective exceeds 2023 revenue and EBITDA targets despite a stalling Q4 first appeared on EGR Intel.
EGR Intel
[shorturl]
[/shorturl]
