Catena Media: net profit up 1,421.4% for H1

The affiliate operator Catena Media has reported a massive 1,421.4% year-on-year increase in net profit thanks to a full sporting calendar after 2020’s cancellations.

Malta.- Catena Media has reported net profit of €21.3m for the first half, an increase of 1,421.4% year-on-year. The huge increase came on the back of a full sporting calendar after the many cancelled fixtures in H1 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenue for the six months ending June 30 reached €71.1m), an increase of 30.5 per cent year-on-year. Search revenue accounted for €66.8m of that (up 34.1 per cent), while paid revenue accounted for €4.3m (up 10.3 per cent). It didn’t generate any subscription revenue for the half after the sale of Hammerstone towards the end of 2020.

Casino generated two-thirds of Catena’s revenue, at €46.3m, up 23.1 per cent year-on-year thanks to growth in the US and Japan. Revenue from Italy fell due to changes in Google’s search algorithm. Google’s decision to suspend paid finance-related advertising by non-registered institutions also slowed revenue in that area.

Sports betting revenue was up 64.5 per cent after a half with many cancelled fixtures in 2020, reaching €22.7m. This was boosted by the opening of legal online sports betting in the states of Virginia and Michigan in the US.

Pre-tax profit added up to €26.3m, up 1,095.5 per cent year-on-year. Second-quarter revenue, meanwhile, was up 9.4 per cent to €30.4m after a record revenue in Q2 2020. Search revenue up 10.1 per cent and paid revenue 33.3 per cent. The contribution from casino was down 0.5 per cent but sports revenue jumped 66 per cent to €8.3m.

Profit for the second quarter came to €4.3m, which compares to a loss of €7.8m for Q2 2020.

Michael Daly, who replaced Göran Blomberg as CEO at Catena earlier this year said: “The results demonstrate the robustness of our business model as they came in the face of low seasonal sports activity in the US, the re-opening this year of land-based entertainment venues in North America and other locations, and a sharp increase in product investment in Q2 compared to the same period last year.

“Looking ahead, we are moving ever closer towards our goal of a globally diverse portfolio with a strong presence in North America and Europe buttressed by positive contributions from Asia, Latin America and Africa as markets there come online. 

“Our transformation plan to prioritise keyword and search engine optimisation and product content development in key markets is on schedule and progressing as expected. “We expect the transformation effort to begin delivering a positive revenue impact later this year and to provide lasting impact as we move into 2022 and beyond.”