Catena Media reports record revenue as online casino and US bolster Q2 figures

Catena Media is predicting record revenue of $31.7m in Q2 2020 as online casino helped boost financial figures amid Covid-19 uncertainty.

It’s US business enjoyed its most successful quarter as online casinos experienced tremendous growth rates due to land-based closures across the country during the period.

The $31.7m figure is a record for quarterly revenue at the Malta-based affiliate firm, while Q2 EBITDA projections of €16.6-$16.9m would also reflect an all-time high after a 52% rise.

The 17% annual revenue increase was driven by Catena Media’s casino segment as the AskGamblers brand, as well as the Japanese market, reported their strongest quarters ever.

The Stockholm-listed firm’s sports betting business suffered from the Covid-19 sporting blackout but saw late recovery towards the end of Q2 as top-tier football returned.

Other notable events during the quarter included Google’s major update to its search and ranking algorithms at the beginning of May.

The algorithm changes negatively impacted traffic numbers for some heritage Catena Media brands, despite the affiliate’s brands in the US reporting a positive impact.

NDCs for the quarter reached 104,000, a decrease of 13% on Q1 but an uptick of 4% from Q2 2019.

“Given the extraordinary global circumstances, Q2 was a very challenging quarter, so we are happy to report that the measures taken by the company helped us achieve the best quarter ever in the history of the company,” said Catena Media CEO Per Hellberg.

Catena Media’s share price climbed 19% in early trading. The firm’s full Q2 report will be published on 19 August 2020.