Playmaker Capital has showcased rapid growth, posting record revenues and user engagement during Q2 as the digital sports media continues to invest.
Playmaker Capital revenues reach record level
Publishing its Q2 financial results, Playmaker recorded revenue of $7.0m, more than double the $3.0m made in Q2 2021 revenues.
This was driven by record engagement metrics across its owned and operated web properties, which reached a monthly high of over 95 million users and generated 674 million sessions throughout the quarter, up 40% year-over-year.
Direct sales from tier-one advertisers and sports betting operators increased by 50% with them accounting for over 50% of total revenue for the quarter.
M&A strategy bears fruit
Furthermore, revenues were also helped through the strategic acquisitions of US-based soccer-focused media property, World Soccer Talk, as it aims to grow in North American soccer, and Juanfutbol, to serve Mexican and US Hispanic markets.
Other product launches included the launch of The 90th Minute from The Nation Network, a soccer-focused brand with media properties including Kicked Back and Sunday League Pundits, whilst its Yardbarker business linked with oddschecker to benefit from US sports betting content.
“Q2 was a very productive quarter for us as we continued to invest in the foundation of our business, integrating recently acquired companies, and developing operational efficiencies and centers of excellence,” said Jordan Gnat, Playmaker CEO. “We completed two acquisitions subsequent to the quarter end with the key efforts on diligence and operational integration happening prior to closing the transactions.
“On the balance sheet side, we completed a financing with Beedie Capital, bringing additional institutional capital into the company. This investment provides us with the flexibility to execute on our strategies and a partner in Beedie Capital that brings unique expertise and perspective to complement our business.
“I have stated on many occasions that we will not profit at the expense of growth and not grow at the expense of profit. This is the disciplined approach we started with and, as demonstrated, we continue to focus on this balance.”
Profitabililty down as investments continue
Playmaker did note an operating loss of $0.7m for Q2, compared to an operating income of $0.4m last year, owing to the increased investment in its growth.
In a further display of smaller profitability, adjusted EBITDA decreased 14% YoY from $2.2m to $1.9m
At the end of the quarter, Playmaker’s cash and cash equivalents were $2.5m, compared to $5.1m at the end of Q1.
Following the end of the quarter, the company closed a $20m convertible loan facility and received $15m through that advance. His loan facility was via Beedie Investments, which is aiding Playmaker ‘execute on its growth strategy’, including acquiring more profitable digital media assets.
“Though we continue to invest in growth initiatives throughout the business, we produced $1.9m of pro forma Adjusted EBITDA in Q2, demonstrating our balanced focus on profitability and growth,” said Mike Cooke, Playmaker CFO.
“Meanwhile, at a time when capital is at a premium, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet, closing a US $20m convertible loan facility in July 2022. This facility, combined with the US$15m credit facility that we closed in March 2022, gives us significant flexibility to opportunistically pursue our M&A strategy – and to continue making investments to drive growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions over time.
