SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Stockholm-listed Kindred Group Plc reports a tough opening to its 2019 trading, as the online gambling group undertakes a series of adjustments related to its home market of Sweden.
Publishing its unaudited Q1 2019 trading update , Kindred maintains its strong group revenue momentum recording ‘Gross winnings’ of £224 million (Q1 2018: £208m),
However Swedish market costs have impacted metric performance – with EBITDA falling to £30.6 million (Q1 2018 £47.5m)
Despite maintaining ‘all-time highs’ in customer sign-ups and activity (+1.6 million), Kindred properties would be forced to reward all Swedish customers with an additional player bonus, compliant with the terms of the market’s new licensing system.
The regulatory requirement would see Kindred customer rewards expenditure increase by £6.6 million, with the group undertaking further Swedish costs with regards to £5 million paid for market duties combined with marketing costs of £3.8 million.
Closing Q1 2019 trading, Kindred reports a profits-after-tax of £15 million (Q1 2018: £29m)
“All-time high in active customers but, as expected, profits for the quarter significantly impacted by the new local licence in Sweden” detailed Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group updating investors.
“During the quarter we have had strong levels of activity across all markets and all-time highs in active customers and Sports betting turnover. This is the result of our continued investment in marketing, where focus has been in relation to responsible gambling in Sweden and football sponsorships in the UK.”
