2021 was praised as a “year of many opportunities” for Better Collective, with the firm citing a strong US performance and an “all-time high intake of new depositing customers” contributing to its Q4 growth.
Publishing its interim report for the 12 months ended 31 December 2021, Better Collective recorded group revenues of €52.8m – a rise of 44% when compared to Q4 2020.
Organic revenue growth was 25%, while the number of new depositing customers (NDCs) rose by 74% to more than 267,000. Group EBITDA for the quarter totalled €16.3m, a 16% increase from €14.1m in 2020.
“An all-time high intake of NDCs in Q4 and an overall strong performance of our business mark the ending of 2021 – a year of many new opportunities for Better Collective,” said CEO and Co-Founder Jesper Søgaard.
“Our US business delivered prime results following the start of the NFL season, contributing almost 40% to the total quarterly group revenue.”
Among its highlights for 2021, Better Collective drew particular attention to the completion of its acquisition of US based RotoGrinders Network at a total price of €33m.
One month after the acquisition was closed, the Danish publishing network initiated a share buyback programme to “cover future payments relating to completed acquisitions and incentive programmes for up to €10m”.
On stateside matters, the CEO added: “The US market is already the single biggest market for Better Collective and is approaching the same profitability as our European publishing business. We have established ourselves with strong American sports betting brands, including the recently acquired Action Network.
“Since the time of consolidation, Action Network has been growing its audience significantly and has persistently delivered strong results across all main KPIs.
“In 2022, more states are expected to open for online sports betting and igaming which will facilitate further business opportunities and growth for Better Collective.”
Despite considerable growth in its stateside operations, Better Collective celebrated a “solid performance” across its European portfolio, with Søgaard praising the company’s ability to adapt to ever changing regulatory conditions and coronavirus-related developments.
“In our European business we have seen solid performance in a changing regulatory environment. Germany implemented new regulation from 1 July, while the Netherlands implemented new regulation allowing for online betting for the first time on 1 October.
“Other countries such as Sweden, Spain and Italy adopted different kinds of temporary measures for consumer protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am truly proud of our teams managing to adapt to these rapid changes in due time and with the right measures.”