GiG sets the stage for a pivotal 2025

CFO Phil Richards joined GiG in early 2024, just months before the strategic split that saw the business separate its media and platform divisions, spinning out from Gentoo Media and establishing GiG Software as a focused, standalone tech company. Here, he talks growth, strategy and what’s next for the newly listed GiG Software Plc (GiG SDB – Nasdaq First North).

EGR: Starting with the big picture – 2024 was a landmark year for GiG. How would you sum it up?

Phil Richards (PR): 2024 really was a massive year for us. We completed our split from what’s now Gentoo Media and listed on NASDAQ First North back in October 2024, which was a huge milestone. But beyond that, the financials were really strong, too. We ended Q4 on a high. Revenues were up 19% quarter on quarter and 43% year on year on an underlying basis. We also returned to EBITDA profitability in Q4.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing as we had customer exits and one-off revenue from 2023 to factor in, but when you strip that out, the underlying growth was solid. We ended the year with average annual return (ARR) of €33.4m and a really strong revenue trajectory heading into 2025. All in, we have set the stage last year for what’s shaping up to be a monumental 2025.

EGR: You’ve had some significant commercial wins lately. Can you walk us through some of those?

PR: Absolutely. 2025 has started really well. We signed and went live with Primero, a key sweepstakes operator. Betzone’s gone live, too, and we launched Pools at the end of last year. So, there’s been a flurry of activity.

We also renewed with Casino Gran Madrid, one of our long-standing partners, and we expanded our relationship with Betsson towards the end of 2024 – a major client for us. We went live in Peru with them via Inkabet, and that’s just one example of how we’re helping our partners grow globally. The pipeline we ended 2024 with is now converting into commercial terms and launches. We’re off to a great start.

EGR: It looks like sportsbook growth is high on the agenda. How should investors expect that to play out?

PR: Yes, sports is a huge focus for us. We’ve brought in some great people, like Mitchell Harrison as our new sportsbook business development director, to really drive this. We already have a solid sportsbook product and strong clients using it, but we want more, we see big potential there.

Margins are good, it scales well, and when you bundle it with our PAM and managed services, it’s a compelling offer. This year is all about ramping up sportsbook signings and expanding our footprint in that vertical.

EGR: You’ve set some pretty ambitious growth targets for 2025. Are you confident you’ll hit them?

PR: We’ve got strong momentum. We exited 2024 with €33.4m in ARR and a bunch of deals already signed that are set to go live this year. That gives us strong visibility through 2025.

Our public guidance is €44m in revenue, €10m EBITDA and being cash-generative by Q3 – and we think that’s very achievable. The growth’s coming from existing partners scaling, new launches from 2024 and fresh deals in 2025. We’re not growing our cost base significantly either, so that revenue growth should drop down to the bottom line.

EGR: Do you have the balance sheet to scale?

PR: Definitely. We got a cash injection when we listed in October, plus some additional funding recently as part of the final spin-off arrangements. We’ve also got access to a revolving credit facility, which gives us flexibility.

And since we’re focusing on topline growth without significantly adding to costs, we should generate solid cash by Q3. This is a scalable model, and that’s what gives us confidence.

EGR: Any new additions to the product suite on the horizon?

PR: We’re really pushing on mobile apps; there’s strong demand and we see that becoming a core feature moving forward. Of course, SweepX is a big new vertical for us this year as well.

We’re always working on refining and upgrading our core products, too. But the big focus is delivery: hitting launch deadlines, keeping current clients happy and doing exactly what we’ve told the market we’ll do.

EGR: Lastly, you and the wider GiG management team have been buying shares. What’s behind that move?

PR: It’s simple really, we believe in what we’re building. There’s a clear gap between our market valuation and the numbers we’re guiding to, and that creates a real opportunity.

Richard led the way with his share purchase and the rest of us followed. We wanted to show the market we’re backing ourselves, but also, we genuinely see a lot of upside. It was a no-brainer.

Phil Richards is CFO at GiG. With a strong track record in high-growth environments, including senior roles at Kambi within the sports betting space, and most recently as CFO of AIM-listed cybersecurity specialists Corero, Richards brings both financial and operational experience to the leadership team as it looks to scale globally.