SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sportradar AG has updated its financial guidance for 2023 following continued momentum during Q3 which saw revenue growth across its core geographic and business segments.
The Swiss-based sportstech group reported overall quarterly revenue of €201m, an increase of 12% on 2022 comparatives of €178m, whilst EBITDA also rose 38% to €50.5m (€36.5m), with an increased margin of 25% up from 20%.
Some hurdles were encountered regarding profit from continuing operations, which dropped 64% year-on-year from €12.8m to €4.6m, but the company remains confident in growth prospects following a series of partnerships and contract renewals.
For the year-to-date (YTD), the group’s revenue stands at €625m, a growth rate of 16% on the 2022 figure of €529.9m, with adjusted EBITDA up 28% to €127.3m (€90.7m) accompanied by an increased margin of 20% (17%).
Carsten Koerl, Sportradar CEO, said: “As the leader in our industry, we aim to consistently deliver value to our clients, partners and shareholders. For 2023 we remain on track to deliver a strong growth year and are well positioned to maintain that momentum into 2024.”
On a segment basis, Sportradar also recorded growth across its three core geographic and operational sectors of Rest of World (RoW) Betting, RoW Audiovisual (AV) and the US during the quarter.
Starting with RoW Betting, segment revenue increased 11% from €100m to €112.2m and EBITDA by 16% from €48.2m to €56.1m. The group attributed this primarily to increased sales of its live odds and live data products, which grew 18% year-on-year.
RoW AV revenue, meanwhile, reached €38m at the close of Q3, a 15% increase on corresponding 2022 income of €33.1m, whilst EBITDA rose 5% to €13.3m (€12.6m), driven by Sportradar’s deal with South American football body CONMEBOL and increased sales to both its new and existing customers.
Lastly, US revenue stood at €33m (€31.5m), up 11% YoY, with EBITDA up 58% from €3.5m to €8.2m, which Sportradar stated was due growth for its betting and gaming and audiovisual products in the country.
The continually expanding US sports betting market has been a focal point for Sportradar in recent years – Maine will be the latest state to go legal this week – and the firm has been trading on the New York Nasdaq in 2021.
Boosting Sportradar confidence in its continued growth prospects, the company inked agreements with several sports, media and betting organisations following the close of Q3.
This has included a partnership with BetMGM – the third biggest online bookmaker in the US by market share – covering NBA data and a four year extension of its media rights partnership with NASCAR.
Outside the US, the company’s position in Asia was strengthened when it was selected to join a consortium operating the Taiwan Sports Lottery, powering the Taiwan Sports Lottery Company’s sportsbook using its ORAKO platform.
Based on its Q3 performance and bedrock of partnerships, Sportradar projects full year revenue of between €870m-€880m and adjusted EBITDA of between €162m-€167m, representing YoY growth of between 19%-21% and 29%-33% respectively, with an anticipated EBITDA margin of 18.4%-19.2%.
Eyeing up a streamlining of its business, Sportradar initiated a reduction of its global workforce this week ‘as part of a broader set of strategic initiatives’, which the firm expects will cut 2023 labour costs by 10%.
Koerl concluded: “This week we announced a reduction in our global workforce as part of a broader set of strategic initiatives that will enable us to further strengthen our client-centric organisation and focus on the market opportunities ahead of us.”
