iGB Affiliate Monitor November 2022 | Page 23

XLMEDIA FIRST-HALF REVIEW
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XLMEDIA FIRST-HALF REVIEW
THE FORGOTTEN MAN
XLMedia ’ s place in the gaming affiliate space is oft overlooked ; having played a major role in the first age of the listed gaming affiliates in the middle of the last decade , it suffered from numerous issues related to Google algorithm changes . As shown in Chart 20 , this particularly hurt the share price which is yet to recover .
Hoping to reverse the course of the company ’ s shares , a new management team has been installed led by new CEO David King , in post since July ; new CFO Caroline Ackroyd , who joined in March this year ; and new chair Marcus Rich , who also joined in March .
Chart 20 : XLMedia lifetime share price
Source : Google Finance
Chart 21 : XLMedia revenue by product , H120 vs H122
WHERE IS XL NOW ?
In its first-half results , XLMedia showed the extent to which the company has now – in line with others in the sector – transformed itself into a US-focused sports betting affiliate . Of total revenues of $ 44.5m , 76 % came from US sports betting . As CEO King said at the time , the refocus on the US , alongside a stabilisation of the legacy European gaming vertical , remains a “ key priority for future growth ”.
The US business has been significantly enhanced in recent years . The CBWG business was acquired in December
Source : Company presentation
2020 , followed by the buyout of Sports Betting Dimes in March 2021 and then Saturday Football Inc . in September .
The extent to which the business is different today versus its recent profile is shown by a slide from its recent results presentation ( Chart 21 ) where it can be seen that sports betting is now worth 76 % of total revenues versus only 18 % in H120 .
The sports betting focus isn ’ t just about product . XLMedia has also moved to a more brand-led experience over the previous strategy in gaming , which was more about sheer numbers of sites over profile . Moreover , XLMedia is already well-positioned for upcoming states with deals in
November 2022