Better Collective revenues leap 61% YoY to hit record quarterly high
Danish affiliate beats its own quarterly record for NDCs as negotiations to purchase esports company for up to €34m enter advanced stage
Better Collective posted record quarterly revenues of €19.5m in Q4 2019, which was a 61% year-on-year rise for the Copenhagen-based affiliate.
The business also saw a total annual revenue surge 67% to €67.5m, up from €40.5m in 2018. This growth was in spite of the fact that sports win margins were significantly lower than the historical average, with revenues affected negatively by an estimated €2m.
Better Collective’s EBITA also rose quarter-on-quarter by 32% to €7.1m.
Along with increasing revenues, Better Collective’s profits also increased by a significant margin from 2018 to 2019. The group recorded €13.9m in post-tax profit for 2019, a significant jump from 2018’s total of €5.4m.
However, when comparing Q4 2019 and Q4 2018 there is very little movement between the profits, with Better Collective noting €3.3m and €3.1m for each period respectively.
Better Collective continued to grow its headcount with 166 new full-time employees, bringing the average up to 364 for 2019.
Q4 2019 also saw the company add more than 118,000 new depositing customers, a new quarterly company record. Over the entirety of 2019, there were more than 431,000 new depositing customers, a 66% increase on 2018.
Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard hailed the company’s revenue and operational earnings, the highest in the firm’s history, despite the very low sports win margins during the quarter.
“On the other hand, Q4 was a seasonally strong quarter with high player activity including big events like the European football tournaments, the NFL and the Euro 2020 qualifications. I am very satisfied to see the company deliver well in line with our financial targets for the full year,” Søgaard added.
Søgaard also said the affiliate firm was making “important in-roads” into its US ventures, citing increased profitability and the implementation of new business models.
He said: “While we are still dependent on the state-by-state regulation, we believe we have strong brands and a solid platform for US expansion as the market grows. The new US-business performed as expected with an increasing operating profit in this second full quarter.”
Better Collective’s M&A strategy for 2019 saw the group acquire 60% of shares in Rical LLC for €18m and 19.99% of share in Mindway AI for €500,000.
In addition to confirming its Q4 figures, Better Collective has said it is in the advanced stages of a deal for the potential acquisition of 100% of the shares in an esports company for up to €34m.
“The target company’s main business model is to promote and advertise sports betting operators and we believe there will be strong synergistic effects between the two companies.
“During the coming period, we will negotiate the final purchase agreement and perform customary due diligence,” Søgaard commented.