Catapult’s sports technology innovations drive revenue past US$100 million

Melbourne-based sports technology company Catapult Group International has revealed that it recorded US$100 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 football and baseball leagues in South America, Europe and Asia, has also been accompanied by a rise in profit margins that company Chief Executive Will Lopes says marks a “historic year” for the company.

Following the announcement of the company’s record revenue, Lopes advised “our growth momentum continued, underpinned by our SaaS (software as a service) solutions, lifting revenue past US$100 million, or over $150 million Australian …, a major milestone for any ASX listed business

“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, a 20% increase from a year earlier.

Lopes added “more importantly, FY24 was a major inflection point in our journey towards profitability and building a world-class SaaS business.

“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% 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 sporting leagues and 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 and Health division, which includes wearables, saw annualised contract revenue increase by 23% as more teams adopted the technology over the past year.

In March, Catapult announced it was expanding a long-standing collaboration with Australia’s National Rugby League while, 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 the last financial year 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.

Lopes says the objective moving forward is to focus on profitable growth, adding “we continue to expect ACV growth to remain strong with high retention rates.

“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.”

Image credit: Catapult.