Catena Media, a leading affiliate marketing company for online casino and sports betting platforms, has reported its financial performance for 2024, highlighting a year of cost-cutting measures, operational restructuring, and efforts to stabilise revenues.
The company saw a 30 per cent decline in revenue for Q4 2024, amounting to €10.2 million, compared to €14.5 million in the same quarter of 2023.
For the full year, revenue dropped 35 per cent to €49.6 million, primarily due to challenges in North America, which remains the company’s dominant market, contributing 88 per cent of total revenue.
Despite the revenue decline, Catena Media successfully implemented cost-saving initiatives.
CEO Manuel Stan noted that these measures “reduced the cost base by 33 percent from Q4 2023, lifting our adjusted EBITDA margin from 5 percent in Q2 to 15 percent in Q4.” The company streamlined content production and marketing teams, leading to an estimated €2.2 million in annual savings.
One significant move was the decision to discontinue an AI-based content generation platform, resulting in a €1.2 million non-cash impairment charge.
However, Catena Media recouped €0.7 million of its original investment through an acquisition agreement.
Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 increased by two per cent to €1.5 million, though full-year adjusted EBITDA dropped 79 per cent to €5.4 million, reflecting the broader financial challenges.
The casino segment remains the company’s stronghold, generating €7.6 million in Q4 revenue, while the sports segment saw a steep 54 per cent decline to €2.5 million.
Another key development was the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Stephen Taylor-Matthews and Martin Zetterlund.
Looking ahead, the company aims to enhance its SEO strategy, product development, and geographic expansion, though the CEO cautioned that these initiatives will take additional time to translate into revenue gains.
“While this is unsatisfactory in the short term, I believe we now have the right focus areas and organisational structure in place to create a sustainable business with solid long-term growth prospects,” he stated.
Catena Media is also working on debt reduction, having fully repaid its €10 million revolving credit facility. The company is now positioned to repay its senior unsecured bond due in June 2025 following proceeds from the AskGamblers sale.
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