Toronto based Score Media and Gaming released its financial results for both the quarter and fiscal year ending August 31, 2020. To put it mildly, it was not a pretty sight.
Although the digital sports media company started off 2020 with a bang after launching its gaming operations, after seeing their financials, it’s clear that COVID took an unavoidable toll on its core business operations. Score reported widening their loss by 300% in FY 2020, and also reported a 33.5% decline in revenue. Revenue was $2.5 m for Q4 F2020 ($6.4 m 2019), compared to total revenue was $20.7 m ($31.1 m 2019) for the 12 months ended August 31, 2020.
Score, despite the rousing start to its 2020, also reported negative net gaming revenue due to advertising expenses and fair value changes on unsettled bets. In Q4 F2020, Score also reported an EBITDA loss of $8.3 million compared to a loss of $4.1 million in 2019, and a loss of $30.5 million for the full year compared to a loss of $6.5 million in 2019. Outside of COVID causing the suspension of sports, Score’s increased expenses from expanding its gaming activities caused the negative EBITDA as well.
Despite the glum reports, Score ended their earnings report with both short term and long term optimism. They mentioned that despite the headwinds, they managed to successfully prepare for the return of sports, and expand both Colorado and Indiana with the launch of theScore Bet. The total gaming handle on theScore Bet was up more than 500% year-over-year in September. Media revenue also set an all-time high record for a single month in September, as advertisers were desperate to engage with fans. Score plans on expanding to even more states in 2021, and seemed very optimistic about their future prospects.
Score Media and Gaming Inc. is publicly traded on the TSX, and is a digital sports media company. The Toronto-based company’s television network was acquired by Rogers Communications in 2012. Today, Score owns and operates a digital sports media platform and sports betting products that deliver sports scores, data, news, and sportsbook offerings.