Affiliate sector share-price performance
Case study:
The ranks of the listed affiliate marketing
providers were boosted in 2018 when both Better
Collective and Raketech were admitted to the
Nasdaq First North market in Stockholm. The pair
joined Catena Media on that exchange, while XL
Media is the sector’s sole representative on the
London Stock Exchange.
Yet their collective performance over the course
of the past 12 months shows the degree to which
the sector is just as sensitive to the impact of
regulation on the gambling sector as the listed
operators and backend suppliers are.
The biggest of the quartet, Catena Media, ends
the year pretty much where it started, at around
Chart 1: Catena Media share price year to 7
December 2018
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Source: Company
Chart 2: XL Media share price year to 7
December 2018
the SEK100 level, but the performance of the shares
since the summer in particular has been largely
disappointing. (See chart 1)
A less ambiguously poor performance comes
from rival XL Media, which struggled all year. In
particular, the company suffered a severe share-
price drop in September, at the time of a trading
statement when it specifically warned on the
impact of gambling-related regulatory issues in
Australia and Europe. From highs of over 200p,
the share price is now struggling to hold ground at
around 75p.
The mixed sentiment with regard to these
relatively long-standing listed pair has weighed on
the share prices of the two new listings from the
summer, Better Collective and Raketech (See charts
3 and 4).
XL Media’s regulatory warning
As can be seen from the XL Media share-price
performance, it was the company’s June profit
warning that pulled the rug from under the
company’s share piece and contributed to the
generally negative sentiment affecting its listed
competitors.
The company blamed the “closure of the
Australian market” in late 2017 as well as the
“regulatory status” of key European markets, in
particular the UK and Germany.
“These regulatory changes have triggered a
re-alignment in how operators and marketers can
Chart 3: Better Collective share price since
float (8 June 2018 to 7 December 2018)
90
240
220
80
200
180 70
160 60
50
120
100
80
30
60
20
40
20
10
0
Source: Company
40
0
140
Part 2: The changing affiliate landscape
Source: Company
Under pressure: Regulation and the evolution of affiliate marketing
17