Acroud reported 5% revenue growth in Q4 but saw a 2% decline year-on-year for 2024. The company also confirmed full ownership of all its subsidiary brands post quarter.
The affiliate’s new depositing customers (NDCs) fell in Q4 by 5% from 2023 with 43,199 sent through to operator partners while adjusted EBITDA dropped by 16% year-on-year to €1.2 million (£1 million /$1.3 million).
For the full year, Acroud’s reduced revenue came in at €38.6 million, while its adjusted EBITDA dropped down by 27% to €4.7 million. Its largest decrease came in the 46% reduction in NDCs to 175,740 across the whole of 2024.
Restructuring shares & assets
Operational highlights in Q4 for the company included the resignation of Kim Mikkelsen, the chairman of the board of directors on 12 November 2024, with Peter Åström assuming the role.
In February 2025, Acroud announced that it had completed its previously announced restructuring to own 100% of all subsidiaries in the group and lower debt, including the remaining 49% of Acroud Media.
“After months of dedicated work, we have successfully completed a comprehensive restructuring that has fundamentally reshaped the company,” said Robert Andersson, Acroud president and CEO.
He acknowledges that while the groundwork for the change happened largely in Q4, the financial impact of the efforts is unlikely to be seen until the Q1 results of this year. “As a result, the financial impact of these efforts is not yet reflected in the reported Q4 numbers. However, we are now operating with a stronger financial position, a clear strategic direction, and an enhanced ability to scale profitably.”
After the restructure, RAIE Media now holds roughly 39% of the company, while PMG holds 16.6%. This has ensured that Acroud’s management is the largest collective owner of the company.
Mostly positive Q4
The final quarter marked a largely positive end for Acroud, as in addition to its revenue growth there was also an uptick in its organic growth to 8.9% from the negative 0.6% it suffered in 2023.
Profit after tax improved as well from the year before that brought in a -€8 million result, with a 51% improvement to -€3.9 million. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA also improved by 36% from 2.5 to 3.4 year-on-year.
For the year-in-full organic growth was up by 3.8%, a large spike from 2023’s negative 14.6%. Profit after tax increased by 92% year-on-year to €2.6 million from -€31.2 million. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was exactly the same as the Q4 result.
“While adjusted EBITDA declined 16% year-on-year to EUR 1.2 million, the underlying profitability trends are improving as we transition toward a more efficient operating model,” added Andersson. “More importantly, we reduced our net loss significantly compared to Q4 2023, demonstrating the early impact of our restructuring efforts.”
Affiliate revenue down
Revenue from affiliate operations was down 14% year-on-year with €5 million but still represented a 15% rise from Q3. Acroud’s revenue was impacted by the sale of PokerListings to Already Media earlier in the year during Q1, which accounted for 8% of the drop. For the full year, affiliate operations brought in €20.5 million down from 2023’s €24.4 million.
Paid media was still the top provider for the quarter for Acroud’s affiliate activities with a 73% share of revenue, while SEO affiliation represented 19% and social and community-based affiliation with 6%.
NDCs delivered in the final quarter dropped by 13% year-on-year but increased 24% quarter-on-quarter with 24,908 sent to operators. From this figure, 92% of NDCs were delivered on revenue share agreements, 7% on CPA and 1% on other arrangements.
SaaS activities registered a revenue of €5.3 million in the quarter, a 31% increase from 2023 and 10% over Q3 2024. While for the full year, SaaS brought in €18.1 million for the group.
The subscription model amounted to €386,000 which reflected a 46% quarter-on-quarter increase and a 25% rise from the same period in 2023. While the network model revenue of €4.9 million was up 8% from the previous quarter and 32% year-on-year.
NDCs delivered to customers via the network model actually decreased during the quarter by 13% to 18,291 but was still up from 2023 by 8%. Acroud expects this growth in NDCs from its SaaS segment to continue further in 2025.
Ongoing targets
The Acroud CEO concluded that 2024 was a year of transformation and that 2025 will be a year of execution. “We have the right structure, the right financial foundation, and the right vision to accelerate growth,” he said. “Our ambition is clear: to become a high-growth, high-margin digital marketing powerhouse while maintaining strong financial discipline.”
The affiliate has kept its ongoing target to grow its EBITDA organically by 20% on average from 2023 to 2025 while lowering net-interest-bearing debt to adjusted EBITDA to 2.5x or lower by the end of the year.