Investors drove shares in sports technology group Catapult Sports (ASX: CAT) more than 23 per cent higher this morning after the company delivered a solid full-year profit for FY26 headlined by a surge in revenue to a record $200 million.
Catapult Sports, a major player in wearable tracking technology and analytics solutions for the global sports performance market, posted a 67 per cent increase in management EBITA to US$24.7 million ($34.8 million) in the 12 months to the end of March.
The EBITDA result, a key metric of the group’s profitability, was buoyed by a 19 per cent increase in revenue to US$140.7 million ($200 million), a record performance aided by the acquisitions of sports tech platforms Perch and IMPECT last year.
However, the company’s bottom line loss blew out by 172 per cent to US$23.96 million ($33.8 million) due to acquisition-related expenses, share-based payments to employees and higher depreciation costs.
Encouraged by the strong underlying performance, investors pushed Catapult shares to a high of $3.55 this morning, before they eased back to $3.17 by 12.58pm (AEST), up about 10 per cent.
Despite the gains, Catapult shares are still well below their all-time high of $7.72 achieved just eight months ago.
Reflecting on the strong earnings results, CEO Will Lopes has described FY26 as a transformational year for Catapult.
“We set ourselves ambitious targets: maintain our organic growth rate, reinvest meaningfully in our platform and stay focused through a period of significant M&A,” says Lopes.
“We delivered on all of them. These results reflect the efforts of every person at this company, and to the world-class sports teams who trust us with their performance every day.”
Catapult’s wearable tracking technology and analytics solutions are used by more than 5,500 teams globally, up from 4,600 a year ago.
Following the acquisition of German soccer intelligence platform IMPECT last year, Catapult has grown to support 940 staff in 29 countries, up from 440 staff a year ago.
Lopes points out that with the integration of IMPECT and the US-based athlete monitoring company Perch which was acquired four months earlier, the group’s operating model “is scaling the way we designed it to”.
“We are only just beginning to realise the potential of our expanded platform, and I have great confidence in our ability to continue driving this business forward as one of the world’s best SaaS companies.”
Catapult delivered a strong performance from its core SaaS verticals, with ACV (annualised contract value) growth of 28 per cent to US$133.8 million ($191 million).
Lopes forecasts another year of solid ACV growth, low churn and continued margin improvement for FY27.
“What excites me most about the next 12 months is the opportunity in front of our customers,” he says.
“We now have a platform that can do things for pro sports teams that simply were not possible before by combining athlete performance data, video analysis, gym monitoring and scouting intelligence in one connected system.
“That is a genuinely new capability for the industry, and we are only beginning to show teams what it can do.”
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