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Chart 1 : Revenue comparison , Better Collective and Catena Media Q220-Q222 (€ m )
€ m
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
15.3 27.8
18.3 24.9
36.7
26.6
38.8 40.7
40
Q220 Q320 Q420 Q121 Q221 Q321 Q421 Q122 Q222
30.4
45.4
33.1
52.2
Better Collective revenue (€ m ) Catena Media revenue (€ m )
Chart 2 : EBITDA comparison , Better Collective and Catena Media Q220-Q222
€ m
28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
6.7 13
8.3 12.2
Source : Company reports
14.1 12.4
13.2
Q220 Q320 Q420 Q121 Q221 Q321 Q421 Q122 Q222
These ultimately saw the group reach an all-time high of € 67.4m before the seasonal sporting
23.3 slump in the second quarter saw revenues trail back to € 56m .
Still , it can be seen that on a trailing 12-month ( TTM ) basis , Better Collective generated revenues of € 221m compared to the € 139.1m that Catena amassed
12.7 14.9
13.6 16
16.3
Better Collective EBITDA (€ m ) Catena Media EBITDA (€ m )
31.9 12.8
67.4 23.1
45.2 25.6
56 12.2
28.9 9.1 over the same period . If this was a boxing match , Better Collective would have won the bout on points long ago .
WHAT TO SHOW FOR IT ?
Yet , for all that Better Collective has piled on the revenues through its deals for the RotoGrinder assets , the Action Network , HLTV , Atemi
“ Another difference between the two comes from the percentage of revenue each generates from paid media versus SEO ”
and others , the result in terms of generating operating profits , as measured by EBITDA , is strikingly similar to Catena ( see Chart 2 ).
While Better Collective managed to grow its EBITDA nearly fourfold from € 6.7m in Q220 to a high of € 23.1m in Q122 , Catena Media managed something like the same feat with its all-time high in Q122 actually higher than Better Collective ’ s effort at € 25.6m .
For all the extra revenues Better Collective is now generating , then , the quality of those earnings has to be questioned given what appears to be the operating profit outcome .
Furthermore , when it comes to actual profits , it can be seen that while Better Collective hasn ’ t had to resort to a write-off of previously acquired assets ( as its rival had to do in the third quarter of last year ), it still isn ’ t yet generating
November 2022