Catena Media anticipating North American growth as impairment costs eat into profit
Affiliate giant continues to champion US and Canada operations with 31% year-on-year jump in revenue
Catena Media is anticipating a 31% jump in its Q4 North American revenue as its European restructuring looks to pay dividends.
Releasing its preliminary results, Catena noted Q4 revenue from North America is expected to amount to €21.5m (£18.9m), up from €16.4m in Q4 2021.
Additionally, North American revenue is expected to account for 78% of total group revenue during the quarter.
Catena has ramped its efforts to focus solely on the North American market since May 2022 when it implemented a strategic review of its assets, namely its European operations.
The review saw the firm sell AskGamblers to GiG in a €45m deal in Q4, while staff headcount in Malta and the UK has been cut by 25%.
Total revenue, including discontinued operations, remained flat at €31.5m, compared to €31.9m in Q4 2021.
The discounted operations include Catena’s grey-market performance marketing assets in Europe, AskGamblers and its related brands, as well as the financial trading segment, which is held for sale.
The affiliate is anticipating non-cash impairment charges relating to its restructuring and the holding of the financial trading segment.
Catena noted a reduction in operating profit would arise from a goodwill charge of €7.3m and other intangible assets of €9.9m.
Additionally, total adjusted EBITDA, including the discontinued operations, is expected to fall from €13.2m to €12.7m with a corresponding margin of 40%.
Speaking on the unaudited performance, CEO Michael Daly praised the group’s North American operations.
Daly said: “It is pleasing to see such strong performance from our core North American business in Q4. We gained uplift from the launch of licensed online sports betting in Maryland in November and a strong run-in to the go-live for online sports betting in Ohio on 1 January 2023, which delivered our strongest ever launch period for a US state sportsbook launch.
“We successfully delivered on our strategy of further expansion in North America while completing our strategic review with the sale of AskGamblers and its related assets. These preliminary results reaffirm our strategy and provide a solid platform as we enter 2023,” he added.
Earlier this month, Catena appointed Carnegie Investment Bank as its financial adviser to support the affiliate regarding the sale of assets or a public tender offer for the firm.
Catena’s share price was up 0.15% to SEK27 at the time of writing.