Affiliate marketing firm, Catena Media, which focuses on the internet gaming sector, experienced a revenue surge of 9% in the initial six months of 2020, reaching €54.5 million (equivalent to roughly $65 million). This expansion transpired despite a widespread decline in the broader gambling market.
What’s the explanation? It appears the COVID-19 outbreak unexpectedly favored online gaming enterprises. As lockdowns mandated individuals to remain at home, internet-based providers and platforms such as Catena Media witnessed unprecedented user engagement and financial gains.
Catena’s revenue for the second quarter alone exceeded its first-quarter earnings, hitting €27.8 million, a 17% leap compared to the corresponding period the previous year. This underscores how the peak of the pandemic’s influence, spanning April to June, actually bolstered their operations.
Earnings (quantified as adjusted EBITDA) also exhibited a substantial rise, climbing 34% to €27.7 million for the first half of the year. The second quarter alone demonstrated a 56% surge in adjusted EBITDA, reaching €14.8 million.
Intriguingly, while the overall count of new clients making their initial deposits experienced a minor decrease of 0.1% to 223,855 in the first half of the year, the second quarter actually witnessed a 4% growth, reaching 104,326 new depositors.
Per Hellberg, Chief Executive Officer of Catena Media, proudly declared that the second quarter marked a record-setting period for the company, with earnings attaining unprecedented levels. He ascribed the 17% year-over-year revenue expansion partially to record revenue generated through natural search engine traffic.
Despite the favorable earnings announcement, Catena’s share value experienced a decline, dropping from SEK 34.50 (approximately $3.99) to SEK 31.96 shortly after the news release.
