Better Collective Interim report January 1 – December 31, 2020

Highlights fourth quarter 2020 

• Q4 Revenue increased by 88% to 36,714 tEUR (Q4 2019: 19,579 tEUR). Organic growth was 32%. Revenue doubled from Q3 2020.
• Q4 EBITA before special items increased 92% to 13,670 tEUR (Q4 2019: 7,117 tEUR). The group EBITA-margin before special items was 37%. EBITA-margin was 52% in Publishing and 13% in Paid Media. In Q4, significant costs were added in Paid Media to shift the business model towards revenue share and new market openings.
• Earnings per share (EPS) increased by 143% to 0.18 EUR/share (Q4 2019: 0.07 EUR/share)
• Cash Flow from operations before special items was 10,148 tEUR (Q4 2019: 7,532 tEUR), an increase of 35%. The cash conversion was 71%. End of Q4, capital reserves were 43 mEUR consisting of cash of 28 mEUR and unused bank credit facilities of 15 mEUR.
• New Depositing Customers (NDCs) was above 153,000 in the quarter, a growth of 30%.
• Better Collective acquired the Atemi Group for 44 mEUR on October 1 and has completed a successful integration. Atemi Group is one of the World’s largest companies specialised in lead generation for iGaming through paid media and social media advertising. The acquisition is a major strategic move for Better Collective with significant synergistic opportunities.

 

Financial highlights full year 2020 

• Revenue grew by 35% to 91,186 tEUR (FY 2019: 67,449 tEUR), with organic growth of 8%.
• EBITA before special items increased 34% to 36,604 tEUR (FY 2019: 27,231 tEUR). The EBITA-margin before special items was 40%.
• Cash Flow from operations before special items was 38,321 tEUR (FY 2019: 26,585 tEUR), an increase of 44%. Cash conversion rate before special items was 99%.
• Earnings per share (EPS) increased by 46% to 0.47 EUR/share (2019: 0.32 EUR/ share)
• New Depositing Customers (NDCs) exceeded 437,000 in 2020, similar to 2019. Performance was maintained despite the cancellation and postponement of major sports events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• During 2020, Better Collective completed acquisitions of approximately 80 mEUR:
• In March 2020, Better Collective established a strong position within the esports betting market through the acquisition of HLTV.org ApS. The purchase price was agreed at up to 34.5 mEUR on a cash and debt free basis.
• In October 2020, the acquisition of The Atemi Group was completed for 44 mEUR.
• In November 2020, the smaller acquisitions of Irishracing.com and Zagranie. com were completed for just above 1 mEUR.
• COVID-19 had a significant impact from the last part of Q1 as the pandemic set a halt on major sports events and thereby also online sports betting. Q2 was the most affected until some of the major sports in Europe resumed in June. In Q3, sports calendars were still affected with amended and reduced tournament formats, whereas Q4 has been largely back on track.

 

Significant events after the closure of the period 

• January revenue reached 13 mEUR, a growth of 78% vs. 2020, of which 16% was organic growth. The organic growth was recorded despite a strong comparison towards January 2020 and was partly driven by the US business where total revenue in local currency almost doubled. In revenue from the affilliate business from sportsbetting and casino, the growth exceeded 200%.
• On January 1, 2021, Better Collective exercised its option to acquire a further 70% of the shares in Mindway AI for a total price of 2.3 mEUR (17 mDKK), bringing the ownership to 90%. Mindway AI specialises in software solutions based on artificial intelligence and neuroscience for identifying, preventing, and intervening in at-risk and problem gambling.

 

Financial targets 2021 
With the expiration of the 2018-2020 targets and the introduction of segment reporting, the Board of Directors have decided on new targets for the financial year 2021: Revenue 160 mEUR, EBITDA 50 mEUR, Organic growth 20%, Net interest bearing debt/EBITDA <3.0. See page 13 of the report for more detail.

Conference call

A telephone conference will be held at 10.00 a.m. CET today by CEO Jesper Søgaard and CFO Flemming Pedersen. The presentation will simultaneously be webcasted, and both the telephone conference and the webcast offer an opportunity to ask questions.

Dial in details for participants:

Confirmation Code:            6573033
Denmark:                            +45 32 72 04 17
Sweden:                +46 (0)8 56618467
United Kingdom: +44 (0)8444819752

Webcast link https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/msczk4rq

Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective, commented: “Looking back at an unusual year, I am pleased to see that our business has proven resilient and I am proud that we come out strong on performance. We have entered 2021 in great shape and are well-positioned for an eventful 2021”