Better Collective targets double digit revenue growth and continues to invest in the future

Regulatory release no. 04/2024

Flash highlights Q4, 2023

• Strong performance with revenue of 85m EUR made it possible to exceed the 2023 revenue target
• Recurring revenue of 47 mEUR; growth of 15%
• EBITDA before special items 30 mEUR; down 16%; EBITDA-margin 35%; EBITDA ended in the high end of the range for the year
• January trading; Revenue 27 mEUR, down 27%, following tough comparisons from strong launch of sports betting in Ohio last year

Flash highlights full year, 2023

• Revenue 327 mEUR, up 21%; on top of 52% growth the year prior
• Recurring revenue 189 mEUR; growth of 47%
• EBITDA before special items 111 mEUR; up 31%; EBITDA-margin 34%
• 2023 financial targets; Revenue exceeded (315-325 mEUR), EBITDA in the high end of the target range (105-115 mEUR), debt target met (<2x)
• 2024 financial targets; Revenue 390-420 mEUR (19-29% growth), EBITDA before special items 125-135 mEUR (13-22% growth), net debt to EBITDA below 3x

Highlights Q4, 2023

• Group revenue was flat at 85 mEUR (Q4 2022: 86 mEUR) with organic revenue growth of -7%. In constant currencies revenue was negatively impacted by 2%-points. The strong performance made it possible to exceed the full year guidance on revenue.
• Recurring revenue was 47 mEUR, posting 15% growth, implying higher quality revenue. Recurring revenue makes up 56% of total group revenue.
• Group EBITDA before special items was 30 mEUR, down 16% versus the year before (Q4 2022: 35 mEUR). The group EBITDA-margin before special items was 35%. EBITDA was mainly impacted by the ongoing transition to revenue share in the US and the tough comparison from the Ohio state launch pre-registration.
• Cash flow from operations before special items was 38 mEUR (Q4 2022: 21 mEUR). The cash conversion was 124%. By the end of 2023, capital reserves stood at 122 mEUR of which cash of 43 mEUR, and other current financial assets of 7 mEUR and unused credit facilities of 72 mEUR.
• New depositing customers (NDC) numbered more than 483,000 down 17% on tough comparisons as Better Collective sent more than 300,000 NDCs during the World Cup 2022. Of the 483,000, 80% were sent on revenue share contracts. During 2023, Better Collective sent a record-breaking 1.9 million NDCs up 14% out of which 83% were sent on revenue share contracts.
• The North American contractual transition towards revenue share continues at fast pace. In terms of NDCs, Better Collective sent 483,000 NDCs during the quarter. Of this 115,000 were sent in the US, where 55% of those were on revenue share contracts. This equal growth in North American revenue share NDCs of 66%.
• Special items amounted to an expense of 1.9 mEUR (YTD 2022: -54 tEUR). The net expense of 1.9 mEUR is primarily related to M&A expenses of 10.2 mEUR, dual listing in Copenhagen of 1.1 mEUR and restructuring of 0.5 mEUR as well as an income related to reversal of an earn-out in FUTBIN of 9.9 mEUR. The earn-out was related to certain extraordinarily high-performance criteria that will not be met.
• Better Collective made its second largest acquisition to date, in a transaction to acquire Playmaker Capital for a total price consideration of 176 mEUR. Playmaker Capital is a leading digital sports media group that owns and operates several strong sports media brands across the Americas. The acquisition will be transformational for Better Collective and will strengthen the group’s market leading position in North America, while also taking market leadership in South America. The closing of the transaction happened post-closing of Q4.
• Mindway AI, the Better Collective owned safer gambling software provider, entered a strategic partnership with the United States’ National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). The partnership will see the integration of Gamalyze, into NCPG’s flagship responsible gambling website; responsiblePlay.org
• In late September, Better Collective announced its intention to carry out a dual listing of the group’s shares on Nasdaq Copenhagen, in addition to the current listing on Nasdaq Stockholm. The first day of trading on Nasdaq Copenhagen was November 17, 2023.

Significant events after the close of the quarter

• January revenues came in at 27 mEUR, implying a decline of 27%. This was mainly impacted by tough comparisons from January last year where the group saw a huge boost from the Ohio launch making it the strongest month ever. Further this is impacted by the ongoing transition towards revenue share in the US. While North America was impacted, Europe & ROW grew 12% assuming the same sports win margin as January last year. This will be the last time Better Collective reports on trading for the first month of the following quarter due to big fluctuations within quarters like seen in Q4 2023.
• The transaction of Playmaker Capital closed on February 6, 2024, following which Playmaker Capital has been consolidated into the Better Collective group. All relevant information about the closing and share issue can be found in the regulatory release no 2/2024.
• Following the close of the Playmaker Capital transaction, Better Collective revisited its long-term financial targets for the period 2023-2027. The upgraded long-term financial targets are as follow:
  • Revenue CAGR of +20% (unchanged)
  • EBITDA margin before special items of 35-40% (previously 30-40%)
  • Net debt to EBITDA below 3 (unchanged).
• Better Collective announced a new major shareholder as BLS Capital Fondsmæglerselskab A/S now has 6.7% of the voting rights.
• Better Collective is now included in the Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen Large Cap Index with companies that have a market cap higher than 1 bnEUR.
• HLTV, the leading esport community for CS:GO, successfully hosted its 2023 Award Show in Belgrade, Serbia, to celebrate and pay tribute to the legends of the global Counter-Strike scene.

Financial targets, 2024
The Board of Directors has decided on financial targets for the Better Collective group for the year 2024:

• Revenue of 390-420 mEUR, implying 19-29% growth
• EBITDA of 125-135 mEUR implying 13-22% growth
• Net/debt to EBITDA stay below 3x

The targets factor in an eleven-month impact from the Playmaker Capital acquisition with the deal closing on February 6. The acquisition is expected to ramp up over time with expected flat revenue and earnings for 2024.
More factors are continued investment in developing the AdTech platform, several AI-projects and scaling commercial development. Further the continued North American recurring revenue share transition to invest in future sustainable growth coupled with high expectations for the men’s European Championship this summer.

Co-founder & CEO of Better Collective, Jesper Søgaard comments: “In 2023, a great team effort across the group secured a prosperous year marked by profitable growth, all while continuing our strategic investments to lay the foundation for the future. It brings me great satisfaction to witness the ongoing development of engaging sports content and the expansion of our audiences across our sports media brands, all while consistently providing value to our partners. 2023 stands out as a year where we made significant progress towards our vision of becoming the leading digital sports media group”.