Catena Media has predicted that Q2 will result in ‘all-time high’ records for quarterly revenues after the firm published a trading update for the period. 

Citing the ‘continued, changing market conditions’ due to the pandemic, Catena Media estimated that Q2 revenue will total approximately €27.7m, reflecting an increase of around 17 per cent and €4m higher than the previous year, a record in quarterly revenues for the company.

The adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the range of €14.5m – €14.8m, an increase of at least 52 per cent compared to the same period last year and corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 52 per cent, an increase on the 40 percent reported in Q2 2019. 

Per Hellberg, CEO of Catena Media, said: “Given the extraordinary global circumstances, Q2 was a very challenging quarter, so we are happy to report that the measures taken by the company helped us achieve the best quarter ever in the history of the company.”

The key drivers for the potential record performance has been attributed to its growth across the casino segment, with both AskGamblers and the Japanese business reporting all-time highs for revenues. Catena’s US business also saw a significant increase compared to the same period in 2019.

Due to land-based casinos being closed because of lockdown and sports being on hiatus, online casinos experienced a ‘tremendous’ growth rate, which was supported by an increased interest in social casino.

Catena Media’s sports business ‘naturally suffered’ from the restrictions and impacts of COVID-19, however, the affiliate reported that it saw a late recovery towards the end of the quarter, with several mainstream football leagues returning. 

A major Google update to its search and ranking algorithms at the beginning of May negatively impacted traffic numbers for some brands while others, for example Catena Media’s US brands, saw a positive impact.

For those that experienced a negative impact, conversion rates and revenues were said to have not necessarily been hit in the same way, as reflected in the total revenues for the quarter. 

New depositing customers for the second quarter amounted to 104,000, a decrease of 13 per cent compared to the first quarter and an increase of four per cent compared to the same period last year. A decline of NDCs compared to the first quarter was expected due to the impact of COVID-19 on the sports business.