October-
- Revenue from continuing operations was
EUR 14.5m (24.5), a decrease of 41 percent. -
Revenue in
North America decreased by 43 percent toEUR 12.3m (21.5), equivalent to 85 percent (88) of group revenue from continuing operations. - New depositing customers (NDCs) from continuing operations totalled 32,032 (56,040), a decrease of 43 percent.
-
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 88 percent to
EUR 1.5m (11.8), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10 percent (48). -
EBITDA from continuing operations, including items affecting comparability of
EUR 1.0m (-0.5), totalledEUR 0.5m (12.3), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 3 percent (50). -
During the quarter an impairment charge of
EUR 34m (0.3) was recognised on intangible assets relating to the European business following the completion of the strategic review. -
Earnings per share from continuing operations totalled
EUR -0.47 (0.15) before dilution andEUR -0.47 (0.10) after dilution. -
Cash and cash equivalents were
EUR 38.5m (24.6) on 31 December. - Outstanding shares totalled 78,773,374 and outstanding warrants totalled 27,022,988 on 31 December.
January-
- Revenue from continuing operations was
EUR 76.7m (98.6), a decrease of 22 percent. -
Revenue in
North America decreased by 21 percent toEUR 67.1m (84.5), equivalent to 87 percent (86) of group revenue from continuing operations. - New depositing customers (NDCs) from continuing operations totalled 184,257 (228,601), a decrease of 19 percent.
-
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 47 percent to
EUR 25.4m (48.4), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 33 percent (49). -
EBITDA from continuing operations, including items affecting comparability of
EUR 1.9m (1.6), totalledEUR 23.6m (46.8) corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 31 percent (47). -
Earnings per share from continuing operations totalled
EUR -0.37 (0.46) before dilution andEUR -0.27 (0.31) after dilution. -
Cash and cash equivalents were
EUR 38.5m (24.6) on 31 December. - Outstanding shares totalled 78,773,374 and outstanding warrants totalled 27,022,988 on 31 December.
Significant events during Q4 2023
- On 24 October Catena Media announced the appointment of
Pierre Cadena as Vice President Corporate Strategy. -
The group repurchased 312,600 ordinary shares during
October 2023 . -
On 7 November Catena Media announced the completion of its share buyback programme. From 17 July to
31 October 2023 , the group purchased 2,510,116Catena Media shares forSEK 54,970,745 . As of7 November 2023 ,Catena Media held 3,124,309 of its own ordinary shares. The total number of shares inCatena Media plc is 78,773,274. -
The group launched online sports betting affiliation in
Maine , with an adult population of 1.1m, on 3 November. -
On 21 November the group announced agreements to sell its Italian online sports betting and casino assets for
EUR 19.8m . The sale completed the strategic review begun by the board of directors inMay 2022 . - On 19 December the group initiated a written procedure under its outstanding bond loan 2021/2024.
Significant events after the period
- On 10 January the group received consent from bondholders regarding the written procedure for its outstanding bond loan 2021/2024.
-
The group launched online sports betting affiliation in
Vermont , with an adult population of 0.5m, on 11 January.
CEO
Rapid technological developments and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the media industry. For the online sports betting and casino gaming sector, the changes will be huge. At
The cornerstone of our transformation is a new technical platform that will launch in Q1. Once fully rolled out in Q2, this will be the first time
Platform benefits and ground-breaking AI venture
The new platform will facilitate the introduction of new tools to improve our organic search competence and will better enable us to leverage data and product development innovations rapidly across the organisation. Built for scalability, the new platform will enable fast rollouts of coming innovations in multiple areas, including AI and subaffiliation.
In Q4, we established a joint venture with a specialist AI partner to develop a generative AI application exclusively dedicated to content production for online betting and casino gaming affiliation. This initiative will embed AI in our brands and offers exciting potential as we seek to diversify and personalise our content production. This project is progressing at high speed. In less than three months it has delivered a minimum viable product (MVP) that we have already introduced to the business. The focus now and in the months ahead will be on refining and adapting the MVP for multiple brands as its impact on our content production evolves from quantitative driver to qualitative enabler. We will update the market with our progress as we reach different milestones.
Harnessing the tech-driven opportunities ahead
We see AI as a positive force that will empower our teams and leverage their knowledge, leading to better and more attractive products and higher revenue over time. Thanks to the new technical platform, we will be able to integrate the AI joint venture and other large language models rapidly in the business. The same applies to paid media, a largely new vertical that will expand our reach and market exposure and reduce our dependence on state launches, especially in sports betting. We are also working with early partners to develop new revenue streams in our affiliation business that we envisage will become operational in the first half of this year.
The completion in Q4 of the strategic review and associated divestments enabled us to undertake the future-facing investments we are currently making. The strategic review has narrowed our geographic spread and streamlined the organisation. Most importantly, it has allowed us to diversify the channels in which we want to specialise going forward. We are now transitioning into a multichannel business that operates media partnerships, paid media, subaffiliation and other verticals alongside our core expertise in organic search. We firmly believe this new multicentric structure and our core focus on regulated markets in the
In parallel with these initiatives, we are also working at speed in different areas of the current business where we see growth opportunities. In Q4 we again saw impressive growth in esports, an area where we have been investing for several years to build brand authority and traffic and where we are now beginning to reap rewards in terms of meaningful income, even if the figures remain small in proportion to total group revenue.
Challenging reporting environment until second half of 2024
We anticipate a challenging reporting environment until the investments I have outlined gain traction in the second half of this year. In Q4, market headwinds caused revenue and EBITDA declines in our core North American market. Lower cost-per-acquisition (CPA) rates paid by operators again impacted revenue, as did stiffer competition directed against us as the established market leader. As mentioned above, we are responding to this competition to minimise the impact on market share. As in Q3, a pullback in marketing spend by operators led to lower user searches for sports betting and casino terms and a reduction in new depositing customers (NDCs). We also faced difficult comparatives due to the absence of a large state launch to offset
The conversion of some operator deals from CPA to revenue share continued during the period. This rebalancing will bring greater stability and sustainability to revenue inflow over time. The short-term drawback is that foregoing CPA in favour of revenue share reduces upfront income, and we felt this impact in Q4. In Q1, the start of regulated online sports betting in
The picture is similar in
A strategic reboot on the scale that we have undertaken can take time and test the patience of employees and shareholders. Q4 was a difficult quarter, but I believe we are now turning the corner. My message today is that our goal is in sight: a leaner, nimbler multichannel
Presentation of
CEO
Webcast
Via the webcast you are able to ask written questions. If you wish to participate via webcast, please use the following link:
https://ir.financialhearings.com/catena-media-q4-2023
Teleconference
Via teleconference you are able to ask questions verbally. If you wish to participate via teleconference, please register on the link below. After registration you will be provided phone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference:
https://conference.financialhearings.com/teleconference/?id=5008630
The presentation will be available on the website:
https://www.catenamedia.com/investors/financial-reports-and-presentations
Contact details for further information:
Investor Relations
Email: ir@catenamedia.com
Email: michael.daly@catenamedia.com
Email: erik.edeen@catenamedia.com
This information is information that
About
https://news.cision.com/catena-media/r/a-weak-quarter-as-extensive-investments-deploy-to-secure-future-organic-growth-and-profitability,c3927303
https://mb.cision.com/Main/12863/3927303/2599249.pdf
(c) 2024 Cision. All rights reserved., source