Gentoo farewells FY25 with strong quarter as profitability improves

EBITDA before special items reached €14.9 million, up from €10.1 million in Q4 2024. Cash flow from operations improved to €11.5 million with stable working capital levels. Total personnel and operating expenses came in at €7.3 million, down €3.6 million year-on-year, reflecting the impact of cost base reduction measures implemented earlier in 2025.

October delivered the affiliate’s second-highest revenue month of the year, followed by November. Revenue share accounted for 59% of quarterly revenue, while CPA represented 16% and listing fees and other income made up the remaining 25%.

Full-year revenue, however, fell short of the previous forecast of between €100 million and €105 million, reaching €98.7 million compared to €118.1 million in 2024. Commenting on the performance, Gentoo Media CEO Jonas Warrer described 2025 as a “demanding but constructive” year, acknowledging the “market environment characterised by short-term headwinds and a cost base built for higher growth”.

“The fourth quarter of 2025 concluded a year of significant transformation for Gentoo Media,” Warrer said. “While revenue came in slightly below expectations following a softer December, primarily due to lower sports margins, the quarter demonstrated the resilience and strong cash-generative characteristics of our business.”

Record value of deposits

As previously highlighted in its preliminary results, the group ended Q4 with an all-time high deposit value of over €200 million, reflecting strong player activity and improved traffic quality.

Player intake reached 102,900 FTDs in the quarter, down from 112,400 in Q4 2024. Of those, paid marketing contributed 55,400 FTDs, up 7% year-on-year, while player intake from the publishing arm declined 22% from 60,600 FTDs to 47,500 FTDs. The affiliate attributed its improved paid media performance to US market expansion, partner optimisation and enhanced conversion efficiency.

Positive Google update

Gentoo Media’s organic visibility across flagship brands improved following targeted SEO initiatives earlier in the year, with the December Google Core update validating the affiliate’s efforts across its publishing portfolio.

During Q4, the company also piloted its next-generation WordPress platform on selected assets. Early results showed enhanced site performance, improved scalability and positive search visibility signals, alongside more efficient internal workflows and multi-market publishing.

Another key focus during the quarter was the continued rollout of its conversion rate optimisation programme, particularly upgrades to its A/B testing approach that allow design and user experience testing without compromising SEO quality.

The CEO noted that performance supports the company’s “continued focus on quality, authority and technical robustness”. He added that the team has been strengthening “multi-channel acquisition capabilities across search, paid media and emerging AI-driven platforms”, as user discovery increasingly extends beyond traditional search and paid campaigns into AI-powered conversational environments.

The affiliate also progressed its partner optimisation programme, driven by data-led analysis of traffic quality, player behaviour and long-term value generation. Underperforming partnerships were reassessed while stronger performing brands gained increased exposure.

Future guidance

Exiting 2025 as “a leaner, more focused and more resilient company”, Warrer said Gentoo Media enters 2026 “with a structurally stronger business, improving visibility” across core markets and “clear opportunities to deliver sustainable and increasingly cash-generative growth”.

The affiliate expects non-recurring costs to decline significantly following operational improvements and restructuring initiatives completed in 2025. It also anticipates a more favourable global sporting calendar, including the Football World Cup, to boost user engagement.

Preliminary targets for 2026 include revenue of €105 to €115 million, EBITDA before special items of €49 to €54 million and cash flow from operations of €37 to €41 million.