Swedish-origin Super Affiliate Better Collective has delivered a future proofing Q1, with revenue surging eight percent, year-on-year, to €95 million (£80.1m) in the quarter, ending March 31.
So-called “Recurring” Revenue–representing 56 percent of total Group Revenue–reached €53 million (£45.17m); an increase of 14 percent over Q1 the previous year. This growth was achieved despite a lower sports win margin and a reduction in the number of major league soccer games in Europe and South America.
Group EBITDA before special items was €29 million (£24.71m), a 13 percent decrease, compared to Q1 2023, which was in line with expectations because of last year’s “extraordinary” performance.
By the end of Q1, capital reserves stood at €164 million (£139.78m), which included €61 million in cash (£51.99m), €6 million (£5.11m) in other financial assets, and €97 million (£82.67m) in unused credit facilities. New depositing customers exceeded 450,000, with 77 percent of them on revenue share contracts.
Post-Q1, Better Collective (BC) announced the acquisition of UK sports betting media AceOdds for €42 million (£35.79m). This acquisition led to an upgrade in the company’s 2024 financial targets, with revenue now projected between €395-€425 million (previously €390-€420 million) and EBITDA between €130-€140 million (previously €125-€135 million).
Global Strategy
The company raised approximately €145 million (£123.56m) through an accelerated book-building process, preparing for future M&A activities.
Better Collective’s acquisition of AceOdds enhances its global reach, particularly in the UK market. Additionally, new Google policies affecting third-party content have impacted rankings and traffic for some media partnerships, but Better Collective has seen increased traffic and rankings in its owned and operated sports media portfolio.
In other developments, Better Collective hosted its annual HLTV Award Show, attracting over 100,000 peak viewers and 1.2 million total views.
In Sweden, the company organised the Guldskölden sports journalism award show. The acquisition of AceOdds aligns with BC’s global strategy and marks a significant step in expanding its influence beyond the UK.
Following the acquisition, Better Collective welcomed BLS Capital Fondsmæglerselskab A/S as a new major shareholder with 11.7 percent voting rights.
Better Collective is now included in the Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen Large Cap Index.
“Thanks to a fantastic team performance, we had a good start to 2024 with strong revenue performance and growth in recurring revenue,” affirmed Better Collective Co-founder and CEO Jesper Søgaard (pictured, above).
“[Although] Organic Revenue was down due to the extraordinary delivery during Q1 last year, we continued diversifying our revenue streams to future-proof our business while investing in our Adtech platform, AdVantage and AI projects, which will support us in our journey towards becoming the leading digital sports media group.
“Looking forward, I am excited for the Summer with many major sports events ahead of us.”
