Better Collective reports 86% Q1 revenue rise as CEO hails Action Network acquisition
Affiliate reaches record monthly revenue in April while Jesper Søgaard salutes “the absolute best and most complete product in the US market”
Better Collective has reported a Q1 2021 revenue rise of 86% to €38.8m primarily driven by acquisitions.
Organic annual revenue growth came in at 19%, while 61% of overall Q1 revenue was derived by the affiliate’s publishing division. The remaining 39% was earned via paid media activity.
First quarter EBITDA before special items increased by 46% to €13.2m, up from €9m in the same period of last year on an EBITDA margin of 34%.
The publishing division EBITDA margin was 51%, although this dropped to just 7% for paid media due to a strategic switch from pure CPA to a hybrid revenue model. The switch cost Better Collective an estimated €2m.
The Copenhagen-based business also reported all-time high NDCs in Q1, rising 54% year-on-year to 180,000.
During the reporting period, Better Collective strengthened its position in the Swedish sports betting market by acquiring online sports betting media platform Rekatochklart.com for €3.8m.
Strong trading has continued into Q2 where Better Collective’s monthly revenue for April reached a record €13.1m to mark an uptick of 185% versus the same period in 2020, although that was a weak comparative period because the sporting calendar was largely cancelled due to Covid-19.
The financial growth was supported by Better Collective’s most significant acquisition to date after it bought the Action Network in May for $240m to consolidate its position as a leading affiliate in the US sports betting market.
Better Collective expects full-year 2022 revenue to surpass €200m as a result of the acquisition and also upped its 2021 estimates to €180m.
“We consider Action Network to be the absolute best and most complete product in the US market, and we are thrilled to welcome Action Network and its employees to Better Collective,” said Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard.
“This acquisition, which is the largest in Better Collective’s history, gives us a leading position within sports betting media in the US, and creates a strong foundation for benefitting from the continuous regulation of the US betting market.
“With the acquisition we add three new, very well-positioned US sports media brands to our portfolio and welcome around 100 new colleagues, together representing an invaluable pool of knowledge and expertise on the US sports betting media market,” he added.