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Catena Media reported first-quarter revenue from continuing operations of €12.3m, up 26% year-on-year, with adjusted EBITDA rising 191% to €2.7m as North American casino performance and tighter cost control lifted the affiliate group back into profit. Shares jumped roughly 14% on release.
North America keeps carrying the group
North America accounted for 95% of group revenue in Q1, in line with the trend of recent quarters. Casino was the dominant contributor by some distance, with revenue rising 43% year-on-year to €10.9m and representing 88% of total group revenue. Casino new depositing customers (NDCs) nearly doubled to 28,256.
Total group NDCs rose 58% year-on-year, supported by Catena’s core brands and growth on its MRKTPLAYS subaffiliation platform. Adjusted for currency movements, year-on-year revenue growth came in at 41%, compared with the 26% headline figure. The strength of North American iGaming markets such as Ontario has been a consistent tailwind for affiliates with US and Canadian exposure.
Sports continued to underperform. Revenue from the segment fell 34% year-on-year to €1.5m, with NDCs down 17% to 6,317. Catena said operational issues remained a drag on the sports business but that infrastructure work is ongoing at its top-tier sports products.
Profitability swings into positive territory
Operating costs rose only marginally year-on-year, allowing revenue growth to flow through to the bottom line. Catena turned a €239,000 operating loss in Q1 2025 into an operating profit of €1.7m. Pre-tax profit reached €1.8m, against a €277,000 loss a year earlier.
After €550,000 in income tax, net profit stood at €1.3m, compared with an €874,000 loss in Q1 2025. With a €371,000 positive currency translation impact, bottom-line net profit reached €1.6m, against a €1.3m loss in the same period a year earlier.
The adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 22%, up from 9% in Q1 2025. Operating cash flow rose 38% year-on-year to €4.4m, with cash and cash equivalents of €9.3m at quarter-end.
Revenue declined 21% sequentially from Q4 2025, which had been Catena’s strongest quarter of last year. Adjusted EBITDA was down 43% quarter-on-quarter, reflecting the sharp Q4 base.
Stan on the recovery trajectory
CEO Manuel Stan positioned the quarter as continuation of a multi-year recovery rather than a one-off uplift.
While this is a decline from a very strong Q4, it is a significant step-up from Q1 previous year.
Stan said the longer arc since the company’s mid-2024 restructuring shows a return to growth, diversified revenue sources, and a move from single-digit EBITDA margins to a consistent run above 20%. CFO Michael Gerrow described Q1 as a more sustainable baseline to build on after the Q4 spike. Catena has set out a 2026 plan organised around three priorities: people, product, and profit, and has reaffirmed a double-digit revenue growth target for the year.
The recovery comes against a backdrop of strong operator results in the affiliate’s main market. BetMGM’s record $2.8bn FY 2025 revenue and ongoing iGaming expansion across US states have supported affiliate spend even as customer acquisition costs rise.
Google algorithm and sweepstakes overhang
The quarter-on-quarter revenue decline was largely attributed to a Google search algorithm update in December. Stan said the group saw early positive signals after the update before rankings came under renewed pressure.
The algorithm changes have temporarily elevated some low-relevance products that provide low user value.
Catena flagged ongoing caution around regulatory uncertainty in the US social sweepstakes casino segment and the broader impact of generative search trends on affiliate traffic. The MRKTPLAYS+ subaffiliation platform, launched on 16 January, is intended to broaden exposure beyond direct organic search. Capital allocation continues through the company’s Marketplace Plus initiative, with management targeting adjusted EBITDA margins above 20% on a sustained basis.
The share price reaction stood in contrast to recent earnings-day moves elsewhere in the sector, where strong operator results have not always translated into investor enthusiasm, as DraftKings saw following its Q4 print. The next quarterly update will indicate whether Q1’s profitability levels held through continued search volatility and regulatory tightening across Catena’s core US states.
Source: Catena Media
