XL Media CEO highlights progress in US sports business during annual general meeting

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Digital performance publisher XLMedia has highlighted significant progress in its US business during its annual general meeting held today. 

CEO Stuart Simms told investors that the firm has made a solid start to the current fiscal year, with recent acquisitions in US sports verticals continuing to partially offset the ongoing weakness across its European Casino assets.

In a pre-prepared statement he said: “The integration of our US sports assets is progressing well and is expected to add materially to the group revenue for the current financial year and beyond. 

“However, and as previously disclosed, we expect revenues in the casino vertical to decline further in 2021 and will continue to adjust our cost base accordingly as we further stabilize this vertical in the medium term. We expect this decline to be partially offset by the improving performance of both European Sport and North American Personal Finance.” 

Outlining XL Media’s projected revenues for 2021, he added: “Given the robust performance and the increased revenue visibility of the business so far this year, the group currently expects to deliver revenue for full year 2021 of between $65m and $70m. 

“As outlined in our 2020 full year results published in April, we continue to invest in the ongoing transformation of the business, including the systems and technology that underpin performance, to build an infrastructure platform which will support the anticipated growth in future years. This investment, and the additional operating costs associated with the recent acquisitions, will hold back profit progression in the current year.” 

On the outlook, he noted: “In the medium term, the company expects to deliver year-on-year profitable revenue growth and to leverage the infrastructure investment to reduce ongoing operating costs, leading to a gradual return to the operating margin levels last experienced in 2019.”

XL Media has been increasingly active in the US marketplace, having acquired sports gaming affiliate CBWG Sports in 2020 and sports betting affiliate Sports Betting Dime in March this year.