Kindred posts revenue up 29% in Q2, driven by Dutch market operations

Online gambling heavyweight Kindred Group has posted total revenue of GBP 307.3 million ($396.9 million) for the second quarter of the year, up 29% from the same period last year. However, taking away the earnings made from the Dutch market, the operator recorded a 1% increase, as the Netherlands played an important role in Q2 with revenues of GBP 63.6 million ($82.1 million).

Total revenue for the first half of the year was also up, by 26%, amounting to GBP 613.7 million ($792.5 million). While H1 2022 was hit by the loss of Dutch revenues as the Unibet parent company exited the Netherlands, the company has now regained that market, boosting its overall performance.

As for other Q2 highlights, the company reported a 28% gross winnings revenue increase to GBP 298.3 million ($385.2 million), while underlying EBITDA hiked by 120% to GBP 55.7 million ($71.9 million). The company also saw an increase in the number of active customers for the period, up by 17% to 1,561,444.

“The strong start to the second quarter has remained throughout most of the period with the first two months being particularly strong. June was slightly slower due to normal seasonality creating a lack of sports events, including Wimbledon only taking place during the third quarter this year,” pointed out Interim CEO Nils Andén.

Andén credited the 29% rise in revenue to the company’s continued focus on “a strong customer offering,” and said that, as revenue increases, Kindred begins to see “the true scalability” of its business model. The positive results have led the operator to reiterate its underlying EBITDA guidance for the full year of at least GBP 200 million ($258.3 million).

A solid Q2 for Kindred

Andén noted performance over the second quarter of the year was positively impacted by an increase in sports betting along with favorable sports results. Additionally, the increased popularity of the Betbuilder product, changing market mix, lower bonus costs, and the continued optimization of trading improved the sports betting margin, which reached 11.3% for the quarter.

“The diversity of our market portfolio provides stability across the group with particularly strong performance in several markets including the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Romania,” added the Interim CEO. “While the challenges experienced in Belgium and Norway during the first quarter remain, signs of improvement are seen in Belgium.”

Excluding Belgium and Norway, the operator noted it saw strong Gross winnings revenue growth of 41%; while with the Netherlands also excluded, Gross winnings revenue increased by 7%.

Concurrently with its Q2 report, Kindred also posted its quarterly update on the revenue share generated from harmful gambling. For the second quarter of 2023, that share amounted to 3.1% of total revenue, down from this year’s first quarter by 0.2%.

H1 results also a highlight

For the first half of the year, Gross winnings revenue increased by 25% to GBP 595.6 million ($769.3 million). Underlying EBITDA increased by a whopping 111% to GBP 105.1 million ($135.7 million), while profit after stood at GBP 53.3 million ($68.8 million).

The company also offered a trading update up to July 23, noting the average daily Gross winnings revenue for the group up to that date was GBP 2.93 million ($3.8 million), 1% lower than the daily average for the full third quarter of 2022. However, sports betting Gross winning revenue has been positively impacted by a stronger margin of 11.6% after free bets for the period, compared to 9.9% for the full third quarter of 2022.

“We are currently amid a great customer acquisition opportunity with the Women’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand. Following the huge success of the Women’s Euros last summer, we see how Women’s football is growing in importance and influence,” added Andén. “With the major leagues kicking off in August and September, we can look forward to improved activity towards the latter part of the quarter.”

Access Kindred's full Q2 report here.