Stockholm, February 11, 2025 — Catena Media, a leading player in the iGaming affiliate industry, released its Q4 2024 and full-year financial results today, revealing a mixed performance amidst a challenging market environment. While the company reported declines in revenue and new depositing customers (NDCs), it showed improvements in cost management and profitability margins, signaling a strategic shift toward sustainability and long-term growth.

Q4 2024: A Quarter of Contrasts

Catena Media’s Q4 2024 results highlight the ongoing challenges the company faces in its core markets. Revenue from continuing operations declined by 30% year-over-year to EUR 10.2 million, primarily driven by a 28% decrease in North American revenue, which accounts for 87% of the group’s total revenue. This decline was largely attributed to volatility caused by two Google algorithm updates in Q4, which disrupted the company’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and led to significant fluctuations in organic search rankings.

Despite the revenue setback, Catena Media achieved a 2% increase in adjusted EBITDA to EUR 1.5 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15%, up from 10% in the same period last year. This improvement was the result of aggressive cost-cutting measures implemented since mid-2024, which reduced the company’s cost base by 33% compared to Q4 2023. The EBITDA margin also saw a substantial increase, rising to 7% from 3% year-over-year.

« The Q4 results reflect the ongoing challenges we face in our core markets, » said Manuel Stan, CEO of Catena Media. « However, the significant improvement in profitability demonstrates the effectiveness of our cost-optimization efforts. We are now focused on translating these efforts into top-line growth in 2025. »

Credit : Pierric Blanchet from The Gambling Cockpit, on LinkedIn

Streamlining Operations and Strategic Refocus

Catena Media has been proactive in addressing its operational challenges. In Q4, the company announced further measures to streamline its content production and marketing teams, aiming to create a leaner, product-led organization. These measures are expected to generate annual cost savings of EUR 2.2 million, effective from November 2024.

The company also discontinued its AI-based content generation platform, a decision that aligns with its new strategic priorities. While AI remains an important tool for scaling content output and quality, the previous venture was not deemed optimal for realizing this opportunity. Catena Media will instead focus on more targeted initiatives in SEO, product development, and geographic expansion.

« We have spread our resources too thinly across multiple initiatives in the past, » Stan admitted. « Our new strategy is to concentrate on our top-performing sites and products, ensuring we deliver the highest value to our customers and operator partners. »

Geographic Performance and Market Dynamics

North America remains Catena Media’s largest market, contributing 87% of the group’s revenue in Q4 2024. However, the region saw a 28% year-over-year decline in revenue, primarily due to the impact of Google’s algorithm updates and the termination of several media partnerships. The company’s efforts to realign its focus on high-value partnerships and optimize its product offerings are expected to stabilize revenue in the coming quarters.

In contrast, the rest of the world, which accounts for 13% of the group’s revenue, saw a 41% year-over-year decline. This was largely due to lower player engagement and legacy-customer churn in non-core markets like Japan, Europe, and Latin America. Catena Media’s recent launch of Bonus.com in Brazil and Mexico is part of its strategy to explore new growth opportunities, though these markets are not yet significant revenue contributors.

Financial Stability and Debt Reduction

Catena Media enters 2025 with a stronger financial position. The company repaid its outstanding revolving credit facility of EUR 10 million during Q4 and reduced its net interest-bearing debt to EUR 12.9 million by the end of the year. With the proceeds from the AskGamblers sale expected in Q1 2025, the company is well-positioned to repay its senior unsecured bond due in June 2025, further reducing its debt burden.

« Our focus on debt reduction and financial health will enable us to invest in core growth areas and navigate the current market challenges, » said Michael Gerrow, CFO of Catena Media. « We are confident that our strategic initiatives will drive sustainable revenue growth in the long term. »

Looking Ahead: Strategic Priorities for 2025

Catena Media’s strategic roadmap for 2025 focuses on embedding a new operating model that prioritizes high-value products and optimizes operational alignment. The company aims to diversify its revenue streams by building first-party customer data, enhancing subaffiliation capabilities, and enriching the user experience across its products.

The company has set ambitious financial targets for 2025 and 2026, aiming for double-digit organic growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. It also aims to maintain a net interest-bearing debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0-1.75, ensuring a healthy balance sheet and financial flexibility.

« We are entering 2025 as a more focused organization, » Stan concluded. « While the market remains challenging, our strategic initiatives and cost-optimization efforts have laid a solid foundation for sustainable growth. We remain committed to delivering value to our shareholders, customers, and operator partners. »