Sportradar Group AG, a leading global technology company focused on enabling next generation engagement in sports through providing business-to-business solutions to the global sports betting industry, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2023.
First Quarter 2023 Highlights
Revenue in the first quarter of 2023 increased 24% to €207.6 million ($226.2 million)1 compared with the first quarter of 2022.
The RoW Betting segment, accounting for 52% of total revenue, grew 25% to €108.5 million ($118.3 million)1, primarily driven by strong performance from Managed Betting Services (MBS) and Live Odds.
The U.S. segment revenue grew 55% to €39.7 million ($43.3 million)1 compared with the first quarter of 2022, driven by higher sales of betting products as well as the Company’s digital advertising (ad:s) product. The U.S. segment generated positive Adjusted EBITDA2 for the third consecutive quarter with an Adjusted EBITDA2 margin of 17%.
Total Profit for the first quarter of 2023 was €6.8 million compared with €8.2 million for the same quarter last year. The Company’s Adjusted EBITDA2 in the first quarter of 2023 increased 37% to €36.7 million ($40.0 million)1 compared with the first quarter of 2022, demonstrating operational leverage from higher revenue despite increased investment into Artificial Intelligence (AI) for liquidity trading, and Computer Vision technology.
Adjusted EBITDA margin2 was 18% in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 176 bps compared with the prior year period.
Adjusted Free Cash Flow2 in the first quarter of 2023 was €12.4 million, compared with €12.9 million for the prior year period, as a result of improved working capital management offset by an unfavorable impact from foreign currency exchange rates. The resulting Cash Flow Conversion2 was 34% in the quarter.
The Company’s customer Net Retention Ratio (NRR) was 120% in the first quarter of 2023, an improvement over the NRR from the fourth quarter of 2022 of 119%.
Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar said: “We started fiscal 2023 on solid footing, as we continued to deliver strong top line growth, predominately by growing our value add products such as MBS and Live Odds in the Rest of World business, and strong, profitable growth in our U.S. segment. We are also demonstrating operational leverage as we continue to focus on cost discipline across the organization and invest prudently to grow our top line. We are confident that our ongoing product innovation in AI and computer vision will enable us to remain a market leader and increase shareholder value for our investors.”
Key Financial Measures
In millions, in Euros € Q1 Q1 Change
2023 2022 %
Revenue 207.6 167.9 24 %
Adjusted EBITDA2 36.7 26.7 37 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin2 18 % 16 % –
Adjusted Free Cash Flow2 12.4 12.9 (4 %)
Cash Flow Conversion2 34 % 48 % –
Segment Information
RoW Betting
Segment revenue in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 25% to €108.5 million compared with the first quarter of 2022. This growth was driven primarily by increased sales of the Company’s higher value-add offerings including MBS, which increased 40% to €37.1 million as well as Live Odds services which increased 29% year over year.
Segment Adjusted EBITDA2 in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 6% to €47.4 million compared with the first quarter of 2022. Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin2 decreased to 44% from 51% in the first quarter of 2022 due to increased investment in AI technology for MTS and Computer Vision technology. These investments will enable the Company to further grow revenue and improve its Adjusted EBITDA margin over time.
RoW Audiovisual (AV)
Segment revenue in the first quarter of 2023 decreased 3% to €44.6 million compared with the first quarter of 2022. Revenue was impacted by the expected completion of the Tennis Australia contract partially offset by growth in sales to new and existing customers.
Segment Adjusted EBITDA2 in the first quarter of 2023 increased 27% to €11.3 million compared with the first quarter of 2022. Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin2 improved to 25% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with 19% in the first quarter of 2022 due to savings associated with the completion of the Tennis Australia contract.
United States
Segment revenue in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 55% to €39.7 million ($43.3 million)1 compared with the first quarter of 2022. Results were driven by growth in core betting data products and the ad:s product.
Segment Adjusted EBITDA2 in the first quarter of 2023 was €6.8 million ($7.4 million)1 compared with a loss of (€6.4) million in the first quarter of 2022. This is the third consecutive quarter with positive Adjusted EBITDA2 indicating the strong operational leverage in the U.S. business model despite continuous investments. Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin23improved to 17% from (25%) compared with the first quarter of 2022.
Costs and Expenses
Purchased services and licenses in the first quarter of 2023 increased by €11.6 million to €48.4 million compared with the first quarter of 2022, reflecting continuous investments in content creation, greater event coverage and higher scouting costs. Of the total purchased services and licenses, approximately €14.0 million were expensed sports rights.
Personnel expenses in the first quarter of 2023 increased by €25.2 million to €77.5 million compared with the first quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily as a result of increased investment for growth which was driven by higher headcount associated with investments in AI and Computer Vision, increased share based compensation, and inflationary adjustments for labor costs.
Other operating expenses in the first quarter of 2023 increased by €1.7 million to €21.2 million, compared with the first quarter of 2022, primarily as a result of higher software license costs, higher audit fees and implementation costs for a new financial management system.
Total sports rights costs in the first quarter of 2023 decreased by €2.8 million to €51.2 million compared with the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to savings from the expected completion of the Tennis Australia contract.
Recent Company Highlights
SportradarSportradar renewed its partnership with the Big Ten Network extends partnership with the Big 10 Conference to broaden its footprint in the U.S. college space by powering its OTT platform B1G+ through the 2024-2025 college athletics season. Sportradar is providing its technology and data-driven OTT solutions to manage B1G+’s OTT web, mobile and connected TV apps, UX/UI design and third party integration.
Sportradar announced the integration of its ad:s technology into Snapchat, creating a new channel for betting operators to engage and acquire customers using the Company’s paid social media advertising service. Using Snapchat’s advanced age and location targeting capabilities to ensure only legally qualified audiences are reached, betting operators have a potential to reach Snapchat’s 350 million daily active users and over 750 million monthly active users.
Sportradar was selected as the successful bidder for the global Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) data and streaming rights starting in 2024 as a result of the Company’s commitment to product innovation. Sportradar offers the broadest reach to tennis fans globally and has been a supplier of official ATP Tour and Challenger Tour secondary data feeds since 2022.
Sportradar published its first Sustainability Report highlighting its commitment to sustaining its business, communities and environment. The report is based on Sportradar’s five key sustainability priorities, sustainability, people, oversight, respect and technology-led (SPORT), which are aligned with the standards and framework of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).
Sportradar Integrity Services released its second Annual Report on Betting Corruption and Match-Fixing in 2022, revealing the Company had identified 1,212 suspicious matches across 12 sports in 92 countries, an increase of 34% year over year. The overall data confirmed that 99.5% of sporting events are free from match-fixing, with no single sport having a suspicious match ratio of greater than 1%.
Sportradar named technology executive Gerard Griffin as Chief Financial Officer effective May 9, 2023. Mr Griffin previously served as CFO of Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, and will be responsible for Sportradar’s accounting, finance and investor relations functions. Mr. Griffin brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in financial and operational management within the gaming, media and technology sectors.
Annual Financial Outlook
Sportradar reaffirmed its annual outlook provided on March 15, 2023, for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA2 for fiscal 2023 as follows:
Sportradar expects its revenue for fiscal 2023 to be in the range of €902.0 million to €920.0 million ($983.2 million to $1002.8 million)1, representing growth of 24% to 26% over fiscal 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA2 is expected to be in a range of €157.0 million to €167.0 million ($171.1 million to $182.0 million)1, representing 25% to 33% growth versus last year.
Adjusted EBITDA margin2 is expected to be in the range of 17% to 18%.4
