Catena Remains Confident in North America as FY2022 Proves Strong
Catena Media saw a strong performance in its local North American market, driven by both full-year and fourth-quarter results
The company, which is a leader in the affiliate iGaming and sports betting market, offered a detailed breakdown both of its Q4 and FY2022 results. Some of the highlights enumerated by the company included a revenue increase of 31% in the last three months of the year, driven by online sports betting launches in Maryland. Catena launched its affiliation with online sports betting services in the state in November 2022.
Catena Projects North American Strength, Remains Committed to Legal Markets
The company also completed the divestment of its AskGamblers website to Gaming Innovation Group for €45 million ($48 million). Catena confirmed that 90% of its revenue is now driven by regulated markets, which is indicative of the company’s long-term commitment to compliance and determination to eliminate unregulated market exposure. These results were commented on by Catena CEO Michael Daly who said:
The final quarter of 2022 was strong for Catena Media as we recorded a 15 percent increase in revenue to EUR 27.4m, along with growth of 14 percent in adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations.
Catena CEO Michael Daly
The update also highlighted the 2022 launches of New York and Louisiana and the early launch of Ohio in 2023, giving Catena a strong overall foothold in the market. Looking closer at the results between October and December 2022, the company reported revenue of €27.4 million ($29.20 million), up 15%. Revenue in North America specifically reached €21.5 million ($22,90 million), contributing 78% of the group’s revenue and up by 31%.
Big Gains from New Launches in North America in 2022 and 2023
New depositing customers stood at 84,651, up 1%. Cash and cash equivalents stood at €24.6 million ($26.2 million) on December 31, 2022, the company reported in the press statement. Catena also provided a very detailed breakdown of its January-December 2022 period, reporting revenue from continuing operations at €110.1 million ($117 million), up 7%. The company noted that its new depositing customers totalled 354,050, up 2%.
Catena was also able to buy back 1,973,000 of its ordinary shares, spending €8.6 million on the operation. By custom, Catena also reported on some of the events that happened after Q4 and the full-year results. Catena recruited Carnegie Investment Bank as its financial advisor to help assist it with its strategic review.
Catena also repurchased 409,193 of its ordinary shares in January and cancelled 4,295,510 ordinary shares in February. The company also reported on its “strongest ever initial launch period” thanks to Ohio, where sports gambling got underway on January 1. On February 8, the company announced the departure of CFO Peter Messner. In February, Better Collective also bought a 2% stake in the company.
Although Fiona doesn't have a long-spanning background within the gambling industry, she is an incredibly skilled journalist who has built a strong interest in the constantly growing iGaming network. The team at GamblingNews.com is glad to have her on our roster to help deliver the best stories as soon as they hit. Aside from writing, she loves to dabble in online casino games such as slots and roulette, both for her own enjoyment and also as research to better improve her understanding of the industry.
