Key points:
- All sections of the business’ revenue underperformed, especially sports
- Adjusted EBITDA saw improvement in Q4, but for the whole year dipped significantly
- New depositing customers were down
Catena Media has released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.
Q4 2024
For the fourth quarter, Catena Media reported €10.2m ($10.5m) in revenue, representing a year-on-year decrease of 30%.
All segments of the business suffered losses when it came to revenue, with the Rest of World down 41% to €1.27m and North America down 28% to €8.88m. It was in sports where the affiliate saw the largest underperformance, however.
Revenue for sports during Q4 declined 54% to €2.51m, with North America in particular posing a challenging operating environment, while there were no state launches in the US. The cancellation of some media partnerships and a reduction in spending by operators in esports also contributed to the significant drop in sports revenue.
The casino segment, on the other hand, saw revenue decrease 15% to €7.64m. Factors such as Google algorithm updates, termination of several media partnerships and lower player engagement were some of the reasons behind this.
Looking at adjusted EBITDA, this was valued at €1.51m in Q4, which represents a 2% improvement compared to Q4 2023, also meaning adjusted EBITDA margin was up to 15%.
While adjusted EBITDA increased by 4% in North America to €4.55m, in the Rest of World adjusted EBITDA dropped by 31% to €632,000.
Loss for the period, meanwhile, went from €38.4m in Q4 2023 to €1.36m in Q4 2024.
New depositing customers for the quarter totalled 25,806, which was down from 32,032 from the same period in 2023.
FY 2024
For the full period of 2024, revenue was set at €49.6m, a figure that is 35% lower than the one seen in 2023.
North America and Rest of World both saw declines in revenue of 35% and 41% respectively, with both main segments of the business experiencing a difficult year. Sports revenue dropped 61% to €13.9m, while casino revenue was down 13% to €35.8m.
Despite improvement in the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA went down 79% for the whole of the year to a figure of €5.39m
New despotising customers were also down throughout the year, from 184,257 in 2023 to 128,700 in 2024.
Good to know: Better Collective's preliminary financial report showed a 12.6% increase in revenue to €371m
Comments
Catena Media CEO Manuel Stan commented on the quarter by saying: “The Q4 results reflected the ongoing challenges we face in our core markets. For the second consecutive quarter, profitability improved following the measures taken since mid-year to streamline the cost structure. These actions reduced the cost base by 33% from Q4 2023, lifting our adjusted EBITDA margin from 5% in Q2 to 15 percent in Q4.
"This represents a significant improvement, but reaching higher profitability will also require a return to top-line growth. In Q4, revenue remained under pressure as measures to focus the group on the new strategic priorities set by management gained traction more slowly than anticipated.
“Catena Media enters 2025 as a more focused organisation. While Q4 results continued to disappoint, we significantly improved our profitability through cost optimisation. Our underlying revenue has stabilised in recent quarters, providing a foundation from which we can build. With a leaner organisation, a stronger balance sheet and a clear strategic roadmap, I remain confident in our future direction. I want to thank our team for their tireless work and all our stakeholders for their continued support.”
