Maltese iGaming affiliate marketing group Raketech announced a steep year-on-year revenue drop in the first quarter of 2025. The company posted €9.8 million in revenue, down from €19 million during the same period in 2024.
Let’s Review the Key Points
- Raketech earned approx. €0.8 million in Q1 2024 from a consulting division it has since sold.
- The slump is the result of several factors, including the underperformance of Casumba Media, struggles within its paid publisher network, and losses from US affiliate sites.
- The company has since completed a restructuring process, reduced operational costs by 34% YoY, and generated €1.7 million in free cash flow before paying out liabilities.
Reviewing Highlights From Raketech’s Books in Q1 2025
In Q1 2025, Raketech’s adjusted EBITDA dropped to €2.4 million from €5.1 million in Q1 2024. Meanwhile, net EBITDA fell to €2.1 million from €4.3 million recorded in the previous year. The adjustments include expenses for operational restructuring and partnership ventures.
Among the major reasons for this quarter’s drastic revenue downfall are challenges within the Paid Publisher Network (SubAffiliation) and poor performance from Casumba Media, the Japanese digital media arm. Raketech also suffered significant losses from its non-core US tipster and subscription assets.
On a positive note, the Raketech group’s remaining casino and sports assets posted steady growth or improving trends in the iGaming sector, adjusted for the season, in Q1 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, free cash flow this year, before earnouts, totalled €1.7 million. While €6 million of the earnout was settled in this quarter, another €2 million is due in the next quarter. The deadline for settling the remaining €20.6 million has been extended to March 2028.
What’s on the Roadmap for the Future
Raketech has taken several corrective measures to boost revenue in the coming days. For starters, they are doubling down on their AffiliationCloud platform, merging its affiliate projects, content sites, and SubAffiliation publishers. Nearly 50% of the revenue from Raketech’s core Affiliation Marketing segment comes from collaborations with independent content creators and external SEO teams.
The company entered several of these ventures in March 2025 and expects them to make a big financial impact within the next few quarters. Furthermore, Raketech renegotiated the terms of the agreement with Casumba on May 6. According to the new deal, the final payout of €20.6 million has been postponed till 2028, and there is no provision for paying with shares.
Raketech’s SubAffiliation network generated €3.4 million in this quarter, although there was a sharp decline in paid traffic in March due to external factors such as algorithm changes. To add to the woes, the company expects a slow recovery in this sector. On a positive note, organic traffic is consistently showing a more positive trend. All in all, Raketech has gained 80 active publishers, up from 50 last year, and signed four new exclusive deals with operators. Speaking to the media, Johan Svensson, Raketech’s CEO, said:
Q1 2025 has been a period of strategic consolidation for us. Despite suffering a drastic year-on-year revenue drop, we have made significant progress in aligning our business goals and efforts. We are focusing extensively on a platform-first model, which will deliver results soon. With AffiliationCloud at the core of our business operations and a robust financial position following our restructuring efforts, we are confident in our efforts to grow and deliver sustainable results.
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