Revenue for the affiliate increased by 39% in a period when it acquired Skycon Limited for £45m. The acquisition gave Better Collective access to the British company’s display advertising expertise as well as paid advertising on channels that include sports media.
Skycon’s integration was off to “great start” according to Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard. “By incorporating Skycon into our paid media division, we have unlocked new avenues for growth and expanded our offering to advertising partners.”
Søgaard paid credit to the company’s commercial team in North America where he’s “happy to see the further diversification of revenue streams in this region through sponsorship sales on products like our podcasts and YouTube shows”.
Looking ahead, he continued, Better Collective is “busy exploring AI-driven solutions, potential M&As, as well as ways to leverage its potential and mitigate risks.”
In explaining the company’s growth for Q2 Søgaard credited media partnerships and “a sports win margin above our expectations” on top of North America and Skycon aas key drivers.
Q2 growth across the board
Better Collective’s €78.1m record revenue for Q2 represented a 39% increase from 2022 where it earnt €56m in the same period.
The Copenhagen-based affiliate did also see its cost increase in Q2 as well with a 13% rise here taking the figure to €49.4m.
Operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and special items saw a 135% increase to €28.7m, up from the €12.2m it recorded last year.
Looking closer at the type of revenue, Better Collective recorded a 41% growth in publishing revenue taking it to €53.5m, while its paid media division grew its revenue by 37% to €24.6m.
Operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and special items however was far greater for paid media than publishing. Paid media saw this figure rise by 240% to €7.5m, whereas publishing had an 111% increase to €21.16m.
Better Collective’s strategy change in aiming to become the world’s leading digital sports media group has seen it develop multiple partnerships with traditional news outlets. This includes deals with Goal.com, as well as Nigerian outlet Punch along with Polish media company Wirtualna Polska.
Delving into the affiliate’s regional-based revenue, North American operations reported a larger growth with a 60% increase year-on-year to €22.9m from €14.3m. Europe and the rest of the world (ROW) in the same period saw a 32% rise to €55.2m.
Operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and special items for Europe and ROW did also see 64% growth, whereas North American operations only rose by 1.2%.
Strong H1 powered by publishing arm
Better Collective also posted growth for its financials across the first half of the year as its revenue grew by 35% compared to 2022. It earnt €166m up from the previous year’s €123.4m in the same six-month period.
Operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and special items for H1 grew by 75% taking the total to €62m. This figure for paid media similar to its Q2 metric saw a 203% increase to €15.4m, while publishing recorded a 54% rise.
In terms of revenue split, publishing accounted for €112.8m with a 30% growth and paid media saw a 44% rise to €53.3m.
Europe and the rest of the world increased H1 revenue by 36% to €106m, whereas North America in the same six months grew its revenue by 32% to €60m.
Better Collective also reported a net profit after tax of €29.2m along with a cash flow before special items of €67.6m from €35.6m , representing a 90% increase.
Upgraded targets
In June, Better Collective upgraded its 2023 financial targets to a revenue figure between €315m and €325m, up from €305m to €315m. It also raised its EBITDA target to €105m to €115m, shifting the figure up by €10m on each side.
Søgaard said on the upgrade he’s “happy with the operational leverage we have seen in our business as we continuously invest in the future.”