XLMedia forecasts H1 2022 revenue to leap 38% year-on-year
London-listed affiliate praises “strategic acquisitions” and newly regulated states for “strong growth” in US sports betting
XLMedia expects its financial results for the first six months of the year to be in line with initial expectations.
Providing a trading update ahead of its H1 2022 results announcement, the gambling-led affiliate said it anticipates revenue of approximately $44.5m compared to $32.2m in H1 2021, an increase of 38%.
The AIM-listed company has also projected adjusted EBITDA of $10.5m, up from $6.6m last year.
The company revealed its “strategic acquisitions” in North America – CWBG, Sports Betting Dime and Saturday Football Inc. – have paid dividends since the turn of the year as US sports betting accounted for 68% ($30.2m) of all revenue.
New regulated markets and new media partnerships have allowed the business to “capitalise on the full US sports calendar”, in particular the Super Bowl, to deliver “strong growth”, XLMedia confirmed.
The sports vertical as a whole is projected to have generated revenue of $34m compared to $11.7m in H1 2021, an increase of 191%. European sports achieved a “solid” $3.8m for the firm.
Gaming is trading in line with targets however, has seen a dip in year-on-year (YoY) performance – generating revenue of $8.4m in comparison to last year’s $12.5m.
The group has indicated that the vertical continues to be a cash generator despite a YoY decline as a result of reducing its cost base to reflect this.
The personal finance vertical was down 89% from $6.6m to $0.8m, although the group stated that product development, including replacing old technology, redesigning platforms and re-evaluating market tactics, attributed to this decline, it is intended to enhance customer experience. As a result, XLMedia hopes revenue will stabilise.
Meanwhile, H1 2022 included the appointment of XLMedia’s new chair, Marcus Rich, and a new CFO in Caroline Akroyd. The day after the reporting period, 1 July, ex-Time Out chief David King was appointed CEO.
XLMedia has also indicated that the organisational redesign, as mentioned in its full-year 2021 report, is largely complete. This involved streamlining the business by ensuring “right-sized design teams” were “located closer to the audience and the brands”.
The H1 2022 results will be announced during the week commencing 26 September.
The company’s share price was up more than 10% to 33p in early trading.