The Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT) share price has surged more than 5.7% higher today. The company has clawed its way back from a 50 cent low in March with the Catapult share price today an impressive rally of 290% since bottoming out.
This morning, the sports data provider revealed it had been awarded a major contract in Hungary – Catapult's largest capital sale to date.
What does Catapult do
Catapult provides technology and data analysis software services to high-performance sporting organisations.
Services include wearable player technology, video analysis and an athlete management platform. Overall, the software as a service (SaaS) allows athletes and coaches to maximise performance in a variety of sporting contexts.
Why did the Catapult share price surge today?
Catapult has been awarded a major contract with BMSK Sport Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft in Hungary. The deal involves 16 sports academies and teams across 3 national sports over the next 4 years.
Catapult's video analysis, player-worn technology, and its ClearSky GPS system will support the Hungarian academy's football, handball and basketball teams.
The deal boosts its presence in the European market, where it has already established relationships with the French, Welsh, Romanian and Swedish football federations.
Catapult chief commercial officer Matt Bairos said:
The combination of video and wearable insights was a key contributor to the success of our tender response, and we remain uniquely positioned to offer new performance insights through combined solutions.
Should you invest?
Catapult has a few tailwinds going for it right now. Earlier this month, the company won a video exchange contract for 130 US college football teams. That, together with today's deal, indicates plenty of business coming through the door.
In addition, the company reported in July it was cash flow positive a year ahead of schedule. This was driven by an improvement in the professional sports landscape globally after the impact of COVID-19. Sports organisations appear to be returning to business as usual, and that's good news for Catapult's unique product offering.
The movie Moneyball, about how data analysis spurred the Oakland A's to a record 20-game winning streak, shows just how imperative data is in sports.
On top of that, large sports teams maintain fat budgets, and usually have the extra cash to outsource to companies like Catapult for data analysis. Whether COVID-19 will reverse this trend is a valid question, however. Fewer or no fans in the stadiums arguably restricts profits.
Overall, I think Catapult a highly attractive investment prospect.
If the company can keep signing big deals and reap the benefits of recurring client revenue, look out for the Catapult share price to grow in the years ahead.
