Catena Media CEO refutes suggestion business is "shrinking" due to North America focus
Michael Daly remains bullish on North American opportunity despite revenue dip in Q2
Catena Media CEO Michael Daly has doubled down on his commitment to North America, arguing the focus has not resulted in the business “shrinking”.
Speaking on an analyst call following the affiliate’s Q2 results, the American was challenged on his decision to channel efforts to North America and whether that move had in effect shrunk the group. He was also pressed on what growth opportunities lie ahead for the business.
Catena Media has shed vast swathes of excess weight in recent months, including the €45m sale of AskGamblers to GiG and the €6m divestment of UK and Australian assets to Moneta Communications.
The Stockholm-listed firm has also confirmed its plans to cut costs by a further €4.2m by streamlining operations in Europe.
While Daly took the opportunity to praise Catena Media’s ongoing Italian operations, he affirmed that North America was the key to the company’s future.
Daly said: “We are still very happy with our Italian teams in Europe where they do strong business in casino and sports. There are still other elements to our business, but the North American focus is the focus for now.”
Daly’s comments come after the firm reported a group adjusted EBITDA decrease of 60% in Q2, while North American revenue slipped 16% to €14.9m.
The affiliate pointed to a quieter US sports calendar, a lack of state launches and increased competition as reasons for the downturn.
However, the group has set a lofty target of $125m in revenue by 2025.
Daly continued: “We set a target that is an achievable but challenging goal because that’s what we believe in. It does involve a number of additional state launches during the period, including North Carolina. We are using Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s market expectations. It does not involve California [or Texas] launching.
“The North American focus is focusing on the highest return on investment market in the world at this point. There are cycles and waves. There is more competition than there has been. It is still an extremely high-margin business.
“North America is the focus for now, with Latam probably a bit behind. I expect strong things ahead and I would not define it as shrinking the business,” he added.