Catena Media anticipates ‘strong’ North America gains in Q4 results

Catena Media expects its North American operations to show “strong” signs of year-over-year improvements when it declares its Q4 results.
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Catena Media expects its North American operations to show “strong” signs of year-over-year improvements when it declares its fourth-quarter financial results next month.

Publishing its preliminary results for Q4 2022 ahead of its year-end report on Feb. 22, Catena declared that it anticipates its North American market revenue to grow by 31% YoY to $23.4m (Q4 2021: $17.8m).

Revenue from North American operations accounted for 78% of the group’s total revenue from continuing operations for the quarter.

During Q4, Catena Media doubled down its focus in North America with the sale of its AskGamblers website and associated brands for $47.8m to Gambling Innovation Group (GiG).

The group’s affiliated sites also benefited from the launch of online sports betting in Maryland in November, as well as Ohio going operational with its sportsbooks in January just after the quarter had finished.

“It is pleasing to see such strong performance from our core North American business in Q4,” commented Michael Daly, CEO of Catena Media.

“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 related assets. These preliminary results reaffirm our strategy and provide a solid platform as we enter 2023.”

Elsewhere within its preliminary results, Catena Media noted it projects a total revenue from continuing operations to improve by 15% YoY to $29.8m (2021: $25.9m). It also expects adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations, excluding items affecting comparability, to hit $11.8m (2021: $10.2m), up 14% YoY, representing a margin of 39% (2021: 39%).

Including discontinued operations such as AskGamblers, total group revenue is anticipated to come in at $34.3m (2021: $34.7m), while total adjusted EBITDA including discontinued operations is expected to be $13.8m (2021: $14.4m) with a margin of 40% (2021: 41%).

Catena Media is also expecting a reduction in operating profit “due to non-cash impairment charges on goodwill” of $7.9m and on other intangible assets of $10.8m, per IAS 36, relating to “a casino asset following restructuring measures implemented in Europe, and to the Financial Trading segment, which is held for sale.”

Catena Media is expected to publish its year-end report for Q4 2022 on Feb. 22.