Affiliate giant Catena Media posted a record €45.2m (£38.1m/$47.6m) in revenue in the first quarter of its 2022 financial year, while net profit also increased to €19.8m.
Revenue for the three months to 31 March 2022 was 11.1% higher than €40.7m in the same period last year, helped by launches in both New York and Louisiana.
Search revenue accounted for €43.9m of total revenue in Q1, up 15.3% year-on-year, while paid revenue was 43.5% lower at $1.3m.
Revenue from cost-per-acquisition affiliation accounted for 67% of all revenue in Q1, while 27% came from revenue-sharing arrangements, and the remaining 6% from fixed-fee models.
In terms of business segments, sports betting led the way with €25.5m in revenue, up 77.1% year-on-year and representing 56% of all revenue in the quarter. Catena said its launch in New York and Louisiana helped this segment, as did high wagering activity on events such as the NFL’s Super Bowl and UK horse racing event the Cheltenham Festival.
Casino accounted for 42% of group revenue share, but revenue here fell 25.3% to €18.9m. Catena put this down to Q1 of 2021 being an extraordinarily successful quarter in North America due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) measures placed on land-based casinos, with more players turning to online, whereas this year, the market returned to more normal conditions.
Financial trading revenue fell 24.1% to €842,000, representing 2% of all revenue. Catena said this drop reflected challenging conditions on financial markets, in stark contrast to an exceptionally strong first quarter of 2021.
In terms of new depositing customers, Catena was able to bring in 171,918 new players in the quarter, an increase of 9.1% on the previous year.
Looking at spending in Q1 and operating expenses were 19.2% higher at €23.6m, though the increase in revenue meant operating profit was 3.3% higher at €21.7m. Other costs reached €638,000, leaving a pre-tax profit of €21.8m, up 12.4% year-on-year.
Catena paid €884,000 in income tax and after also accounting for €1.1m in interest payable on hybrid capital securities, this left a comprehensive net profit of €19.8m, an increase of 16.5% on last year.
In addition, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 2.4% to €25.6m for the quarter.
“After our solid start to 2022 we are well positioned for a busy year ahead and to keep delivering on our financial targets,” Catena chief executive Michal Daly said. “We are investing strongly in personnel to prepare for future market launches and growth.
“Our people-focused culture and innovative strength equip us to continue capturing the outstanding opportunity in North America while remaining adaptable and responsive to market conditions at global level.”
