Sports data and technology company Catapult Group (ASX: CAT) has thrived since the resumption of American sports that went on hiatus due to COVID-19, seeing a big rise in sales from teams and leagues utilising Catapult solutions in their return-to-play programs.

Having held a cash balance of USD $13.9 million as at 30 June 2020, the return of professional sports around the world and in the United States in particular, has led Catapult to report an even stronger cash balance as of 9 November 2020, rising to $23m. With this strong performance and Catapult having overcome mass COVID shutdowns, the company has cleared their loan facility in full to be firmly on track towards their strategic objective of being free cash flow positive in FY21.

“The continued strength of Catapult’s financial position is testament to the resilience and quality of our SaaS business model. This position of strength has enabled us to repay debt and maintain a healthy cash balance,” said Catapult CEO, Will Lopes.

“Our focus on creating value for our customers with enhanced and innovative new solutions in a COVID environment has driven usage of our solutions to record levels.”

“Although there is short-term pressure on the sport from COVID, our churn remains low and subscription renewals strong. While the signing of new business remains a challenge this year, COVID has not impacted the long term growth potential of the business.”

As one of the original innovators in sports technology and data analytics, Catapult has significantly expanded their range of wearable devices designed to optimise athlete high performance. While device sales still make up an important segment of Catapult sales, the shift in focus towards subscription billing of their software (SaaS) and analytics has seen a big uptick in sales and recurring revenue.

This included a 6% increase in revenue to AUD $100.7m for FY20 which delivered a 225% increase in EBITDA to $13.3m in a financial year that included two months of complete sporting shutdowns amidst the pandemic.

During that time, Catapult invested in further innovations which led the Company to recently launch Catapult Form – a dedicated athlete feedback and wellness management platform. Based on what they have seen since the resumption of US sport, Catapult expects a strong increase in subscription sales for the Performance and Health solutions.