SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Raketech has published a trading update for the first quarter of the year as well as a revised full-year guidance.
The company reported that revenues for the first quarter of 2024 are expected to amount to €19m (2023: €16m), marking 18.75% growth year-on-year.
Another notable figure from the report is EBITDA, adjusted for costs related to restructuring, which is expected to amount to €5.1m (2023: €6.1m). However, this does correspond to a slight dip of 16%.
Furthermore, RakeTech also detailed that reported EBITDA in the first quarter of 2024 is expected to amount to €4.3mm (€6.1m).
Meanwhile, during the quarter, Google initiated an extensive Core update, with the update finalised towards the end of April. Raketech cited this as having an impact on its Q1 finances.
On this, RakeTech explained: “We can, to date, conclude a net negative impact related to the Casumba assets, leading us to revise our previously communicated full-year guidance for 2024.
“The Casumba team is intact, with the original founders onboard, dedicated to continuing to run and oversee the strategy for these products.”
Looking at the firm’s Swedish assets, these had a softer first quarter compared to the corresponding quarter of last year, and were somewhat impacted by seasonality compared to the previous quarter, but with a stable performance.
However, other in-house assets showed good performance, with a positive uplift for its sports products.
“Sub-affiliation decreased in revenues compared to the fourth quarter of last year, but EBITDA-contribution was strong, with an increased margin during the quarter and a continued good appetite from our partners,” the firm added.
“Our smallest business area, Betting tips and subscription, decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter, coming out from the US sport high season.”
For this area, the group asserted that it is currently reviewing its strategy – including digitisation of its tipster business. Sub-affiliation has been a standout growth driver in previous Raketech reports, including its full year breakdown of 2023 trading.
Finally, during the quarter, RakeTech implemented efficiency measures following a review of its operating model, to ensure execution power with a better focus on prioritised products and markets and to optimise cash flow.
In terms of how RakeTech is revising its full-year guidance, the company detailed that current trading, including April, implies an adjusted EBITDA of around €20m for the full year, compared to the previous guidance of an EBITDA of €24-26m.
It has also stated that free cash flow before earnouts for the full year is estimated to come in just below adjusted EBITDA.
