XLMedia projects H1 revenue of $32m in first-half trading update

XLMedia has provided a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021 with revenue set to come in at approximately $32m (£23.2m).

The affiliate giant said adjusted EBITDA was likely to reach $7m for H1, up from $5.1m in the same period of last year.

As a result of the trading update, XLMedia has reaffirmed previous full-year revenue guidance of between $65m and $70m.

The first-half performance was driven by the consistency of the affiliate’s personal finance vertical, as well as record organic growth in its European sports betting segment and an early positive impact from Sports Betting Dime, the US sports betting asset it acquired in March for $26m.

This progress was offset by deteriorating revenue in XLMedia’s core online casino vertical as the affiliate continues to rebuild that department after Google demoted its key sites last year.

Indeed, the company has initiated a move to reorganise by vertical markets which is likely to lead to a total workforce reduction of up to 15% as expertise is spread across multiple locations.

“Management is accelerating the move to reorganise the company by vertical markets, supported by a distributed shared services model,” said XLMedia.

“This will allow XLMedia to better match the design of the group with its strategic intentions and more effectively execute and deliver them.

“This process is particularly relevant to the casino vertical which continues to generate lower levels of both historic and new player revenues.”

XLMedia CEO Stuart Simms said the affiliate would continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities.