Key stats:
- Revenue hits €78.1m
- EBITDA totals €27.5m – up 115% annually
- Better Collective’s market capitalisation sits at SEK 12.43bn
Breaking down its Q2 revenue, the affiliate made €78.1m during the quarter, representing a 39% rise on its Q2 2022 report, when it recorded a figure of €56m ($60.7m).
Additionally, in Q2 2023 the company’s recurring revenue rose to €45.8m from Q2 2022’s €27.6m
Meanwhile, its Q2 2023 EBITDA also grew by 115%, totalling €27.5m against a Q2 2022’s sum of €12.8m. This follows the trend that Better Collective has seen in the last few years, with its EBITDA growing rapidly quarter-on-quarter.
The graph below shows Better Collective’s revenue against its affiliate rival Catena Media, which highlights the recent opposed fortunes of the pair.
Looking at its profit after tax, the figure hit €8.3m, a 17% rise on Q2 2022 when it saw a profit of €7.1m.
The company’s net interest-bearing debt also rose annually at €257.4m; this is compared to Q2 2022’s figure of €219.1m, though this is one of the few downturns seen in its report.
Better Collective CEO, Jesper Søgaard, commented on the Q2 2023 results and highlighted some concerns he had with the rise of AI in search engines, stating: “As a leading digital sports media group, Better Collective has continued its global expansion throughout the quarter.
“As AI becomes more sophisticated, search engines adapt to deliver more accurate and personalised search results. Such developments may lead to changes in algorithms and ranking criteria, which could impact the future search landscape.”
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup only generated subtle activity likely due to the inconvenient kick-off times for our key markets” – Jesper Søgaard
Better Collective, in light of its Q2 results, also updated its targets for 2023, with the company now stating it expects to see €315-€325m in revenue (up from the previous estimate of €305m-€315m) – as well as an EBITDA expectation increase to €105-€115m (against the previously announced sum of €95m-€105m).
In something of a tale of two affiliates, Better Collective has only seen rapid growth in recent years – while its one-time main rival, Catena Media, has slumped.
The battle of the super affiliates was all but declared over when Better Collective acquired a greater than 5% stake in Catena Media – although this was something that Michael Daly bullishly highlighted in a recent GI Huddle.
Catena recorded further losses in its own Q2 2023 report, with its total revenue falling by 37% year-on-year, now totalling €18.1m.
Additionally, Catena’s adjusted EBITDA (including discontinued operations) fell to €2.8m, a sum that pales in comparison to Better Collective’s own €27.5m figure.
Since the start of 2023, Better Collective has seen its shares steadily grow, with it recording a yearly high on 15 August, when it saw the price hit SEK 258 ($23.59), while it has a market cap of SEK 12.43bn, with a price of SEK 225 at the time of writing.
Finally, Better Collective also revealed that the €10m share buyback program it initiated in June was complete, following the acquisition of 187,991 shares at a price of SEK 44.6m.
