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Market Monitor Catena Media
CATENA MEDIA
UNDERWHELMING TRADING
The current market leader by revenue – though soon to be displaced by Better Collective – Catena Media has seen its revenue performance in the past two quarters follow an inverse pattern to its rival .
The 10.4 % fall between the second and third quarters of 2020 feels like a significant drop , particularly given the 4.1 % rise between the first and second .
There is an obvious explanation for the situation : the ending of the first-wave lockdowns in the summer led to a drop-off of casino activity and the late starts to both European and US league seasons meant the reignition of sporting activity came too late for affiliates .
Speaking to analysts , nowdeparted CEO Per Hellberg made the point that the “ world is quite different from previous quarters ”. While the second quarter had gone better than expected , the third didn ’ t quite see the sports return that was predicted , while casino also underperformed compared with the previous three months . As can be seen , sporting revenue in the third quarter has climbed back to somewhere near the levels seen pre-pandemic as far as its percentage of revenues goes . Casino has also resumed its percentage share path .
In a statement , the company said several markets were “ still not showing the same levels of search volumes and traffic quality as last year ”.
Though the company was understandably cautious about forecasting for the last three months of the year , Hellberg did issue a positive response when asked whether the final quarter would see a return to quarter-onquarter growth .
“ Normal is quite different from what it used to be ,” he said . “ We need to define normal . But if we expect a better quarter in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter , then I would say yes .”
In response , analysts were also optimistic . “ While the quarterly volatility in Catena Media ’ s results continues , the growth potential over the next years looks solid , thanks to the US market ,” said Hjalmar Ahlberg , analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Stockholm . iGB Market Monitor