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Melbourne-based sports technology company Catapult Group International (ASX: CAT) has topped US$100 million ($152 million) in annual revenue for the first time, with solid growth in free cashflow helping the company deliver an underlying profit US$9.37 million in FY24.
The result, which was supported by new signings from soccer and baseball leagues in South America, Europe and Asia, has also been accompanied by a rise in profit margins that CEO Will Lopes says marks a “historic year” for the company.
“Our growth momentum continued, underpinned by our SaaS (software as a service) solutions, lifting revenue past US$100 million, or over 150 million Australian dollars, a major milestone for any ASX listed business,” says Lopes.
“Our SaaS strategy delivered great ACV (annualised contract value) growth, driven by new customers but also buoyed by increases in ACV per team as cross selling accelerated with our New Video Solutions.”
ACV accounted for US$86.8 million of total revenue, which was up 20 per cent from a year earlier.
“More importantly, FY24 was a major inflection point in our journey towards profitability and building a world-class SaaS business,” says Lopes.
“We saw strong growth in our profit margin, accelerating us to improved levels on the Rule of 40 – an important valuation metric for SaaS companies – as we kept 43 per cent of every new dollar we generated in revenue, and increased our free cash flow to US$4.6 million.
“The foundation is now in place for top-line growth and bottom-line expansion as we capitalise on the global opportunity ahead of us.”
Catapult has been working alongside sports teams since 2006 providing wearable technology and video analysis that delivers key data to optimise player performance and avoid injury. It also assists clubs in recruiting and scouting for talent on the field.
The technology is currently used by more than 4,000 elite sporting teams in more than 100 countries, with the business supported by a global workforce of 400.
Catapult’s Performance & Health division, which includes wearables, saw annualised contract revenue increase by 23 per cent as more teams adopted the technology over the past year.
The company notes that it had secured new signings with teams and leagues in soccer across Latin America and Europe, as well as baseball in North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
In March, Catapult announced it was expanding a long-standing collaboration with Australia’s National Rugby League ahead of the season openers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas – the first time an NRL game has been played in an indoor stadium.
Outside of team sports, Catapult has also partnered with Formula 1, Nascar, and Indycar, providing race control and race analysis solutions through its RaceWatch system.
Despite growth in sales and profit margins, Catapult’s bottom-line result for FY24 remained in the red with a US$16.7 million loss after tax – although this was almost half the previous year’s US$31.5 million loss.
The free cashflow was used to repay US$4.7 million of funds drawn down from its existing debt facility with Western Alliance Bank, leaving the company with an existing debt balance of US$11 million.
Lopes says the objectives for FY25 are to focus on profitable growth.
“We continue to expect ACV growth to remain strong with high retention rates,” he says.
“We will remain focused on our go-to-market strategy, through a measured approach in balancing our growth and profitability as a reflection of our focus on the Rule of 40, ensuring cost margins continue to move towards our long-term targets.”
Lopes anticipates that FY25 will deliver higher free cash flow as the business continues to scale.
“Despite a razor-sharp focus on profitable growth, innovation remains at the heart of everything we do at Catapult,” he says.
“And we will continue to innovate on behalf of our customers in FY25, helping them make even better decisions with our technology. We will continue to invest in our platform and develop the next generation of devices.”
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