Better Collective praises US operations and World Cup as Q4 revenue soars 64%

Better Collective has posted a 63% year-on-year (YoY) leap in Q4 2022 revenue as the US division and an “extraordinary performance” around the World Cup drove significant top- and bottom-line growth.

The Stockholm-listed affiliate achieved €86.1m in revenue during the reporting period, up from the €52.7m recorded in Q4 2021.

Breaking down revenue by the group’s operational arms, Better Collective’s publishing division continued to deliver the lion’s share of the revenue.

This division saw revenue jump by 52% YoY from €38.9m in Q4 2021 to €59.3m in Q4 2022.

Better Collective said the World Cup in Qatar, along with the launch of online sports betting in Maryland, were key drivers for the publishing arm.

Looking at paid media, it returned €26.9m during Q4 2022, representing a 94% YoY increase from €13.9m in Q4 2021.

Geographically, Europe and the rest of the world (ROW) represented the largest portion of Better Collective’s business, with revenue leaping 59% YoY to €52.2m.

The affiliate said media partnership and strong growth in Latam were the core reasons for the rise.

In the US, revenue soared by 71% to €33.9m, with the market representing 39% of total group revenue for the quarter.

Better Collective noted its shift from CPA to revenue share income had resulted in a full-year impact of negative €14.7m, which was above the Q3 guidance.

However, the firm said it had successfully absorbed the transition.

Meanwhile, Q4 2022 EBITDA jumped by 115% YoY to €35.2m from €16.3m. Europe and ROW returned €20.7m in EBITDA, representing a 149% YoY rise.

Source: Better Collective

The US delivered the remaining €14.5m in EBITDA, which equated to an 81% YoY rise.

In terms of new depositing customers (NDCs), Better Collective hit an all-time record high with more than 580,000 during the quarter, a 117% YoY leap.

In full-year 2022, the firm posted a 52% YoY increase in revenue to €269.3m, of which 34% was organic.

Better Collective just broke its $100m US revenue target after returning $101m in revenue over the 12 months.

EBITDA jumped 53%, from €55.8m to €85.1m, while NDCs grew 93% to more than 1.68 million.

Better Collective also lifted the lid on its operations during Q1 2023, with the affiliate confirming it has acquired an 8.5% stake in long-time rival Catena Media.

The Danish giant also noted it had acquired a “smaller asset deal for a sports media in an emerging market” for $4.3m, with $3m paid upfront.

Better Collective is also moving from its Copenhagen HQ to a new officer space in the Danish capital on a five-year licensing agreement worth around €12m.

Elsewhere, January represented record-breaking monthly revenue of more than €37m, with the launch of online sports betting in Ohio helping growth.

Finally, the board as initiated a new share buy-back programme worth €10m with the purpose of covering future payments relating to acquisitions and long-term incentives.

Speaking on the group’s performance, CEO Jesper Søgaard touched on the success of US operations and looked ahead to 2023.

Søgaard said: “2022 US revenue grew 102% YoY and it is worth mentioning that this growth comes on top of the 370% growth from 2020 to 2021.

“I am proud to see great results have been delivered in the US, despite having to navigate the group through the changing climate, where sportsbooks shifted focus from growth to profitability.

“The performance was driven by all our US-based sports media as well as the launch of New York and Maryland, combined with a strong paid media performance.

“We will continue our growth efforts in Latam and keep an eye out for new market opportunities. We remain largely unaffected by the macroeconomic environment but will persistently monitor developments.

“Lastly, we will keep focusing on gearing our business for the future, which – among others – includes investing in a new AdTech platform and moving more US revenue to revenue share contracts – all of which is included in our 2023 guidance,” he added.

Better Collective’s full-year 2023 revenue target sits between €290m and €300m, with EBITDA between €90m and €100m.

At the time of writing, Better Collective’s share price was up 2.4% to SEK186.40.