Better Collective Q1 revenue up 8% as EBITDA slips and headcount leaps 81%
Danish affiliate giant praises efforts against tough comparisons as addition of Playmaker Capital sees staff costs soar
Better Collective has reported an 8% year-on-year (YoY) increase in Q1 2024 revenue to €95m despite tough comparisons due to an “extraordinary performance” in Q1 2023.
The Copenhagen-headquartered firm saw revenue rise from Q1 2023’s return of €87.9m as management pointed to that period as being particularly fruitful given two online sports betting state launches in the US.
Bosses highlighted that despite North Carolina going live in March this year, 2023’s debuts in Massachusetts and Ohio, along with a lower sports betting margin, had its impact. on group performance.
However, organic revenue was down 6% during the opening quarter of the year.
Elsewhere, EBITDA (before special items) amounted to €29m, falling 13% YoY from €33m in Q1 the year prior, with a corresponding EBITDA margin of 31% that was impacted by recent M&A moves for Playmaker Capital and Playmaker HQ.
Additionally, new depositing customers for the first three months of the year landed at 450,000, down from 488,000 in Q1 2023.
Of that total, Better Collective noted 77% were sent to operators on revenue share contracts.
Breaking revenue down by vertical, publishing saw a 12% YoY increase to €66.3m, with the arm accounting for 70% of total group revenue.
Revenue from the paid media business remained flat at €28.7m as cost per acquisition revenue in the division fell 32% during the quarter.
Geographically, North America saw an 8% YoY revenue decline to €34m, which was facilitated by the ongoing shift to a revenue share model in the States, as well as the decline in state launches.
EBITDA before special items for the arm slumped 37% to €9.1m, bringing its share of group EBITDA to 31% compared to Q1 2023’s 44%.
For Europe and Rest of World, revenue was up 20% YoY to €61m as the affiliate giant pointed to strong growth in Latam.
Additionally, costs increased from €55m to €66m, with personnel costs rising €8m alone as employee headcount leapt from 926 in Q1 2023 to 1,677 in Q1 2024.
That included 370 employees being onboarded following the completion of the move for Playmaker Capital, which bosses also noted had provided €7m in revenue and breakeven EBITDA since the deal completed in mid-February.
Following the conclusion of Q1, Better Collective sanctioned the €42m move for UK affiliate AceOdds, and announced today, 21 May, it has commenced a share buy-back programme to the tune of €2.4m related to the move.
Jesper Søgaard, Better Collective CEO, said: “Thanks to a fantastic team performance, we had a good start to 2024 with strong revenue performance and growth in recurring revenue. Organic revenue was down due to the extraordinary delivery during Q1 last year.
“We continued diversifying our revenue streams to future proof our business while investing in our Adtech platform, AdVantage, and AI projects, which will support us in our journey towards becoming the leading digital sports media group.
“Looking forward, I am excited for the summer with many major sports events ahead of us,” he added.