Kindred lauds product excellence as uninterrupted H1 delivers record results 

Kindred Group Plc has registered record gains across its H1 metrics, following an ‘exceptionally strong business period’. 

Publishing its H1 2021 interim results (period ending 30 June), the Stockholm listed online gambling group declared period profits of £160 million – up 575% on 2020’s corresponding H1 results of £27.8 million.

Though performance comparatives were set against the peak COVID-19 impacts of last year, Kindred underscored that it had registered a new all-time high in active accounts to 1.9 million during Q2 as customers returned to a ‘full sports schedule’.

The record customer activity saw Kindred record interim group revenues of £716 million, up 48% on H1 2020’s £485 million.

Trading without interruptions, Kindred sports betting units recorded combined H1 revenues of £330 million, reporting double-digit growth across all European regions – Western Europe (+84%), Nordics (+56%), Central-&-Southern (+40%).

The update also offered up a snapshot of UEFA Euro 2020 trading, in which Kindred registered a June football turnover of £195 million, citing that “several matches in the early stages of the competition achieved record activity”.

Further positives saw Kindred maintain growth of its casino and online poker units which registered combined H1 gross winning of £386 million (H12020: £295m) – achieved against the tough ‘stay-at-home’ comparatives of last year.

The positive headline results saw Group CEO Henrik Tjärnström declare that “Kindred has built a solid foundation for continued growth across all product segments”.

He noted: “I’m pleased to see yet another great quarter for Kindred with continued growth across both the sports and casino product segments. During the quarter, our business has performed exceptionally well with Gross winnings revenue of GBP 363.7 million, an increase of 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2020 when the sports calendar was impacted by COVID-19.“

Providing a breakdown of corporate costs, Kindred registered an increase in period betting duties to £146 million, with the company further accounting for an increased marketing expenditure of £120 million during the H1 period.

The group’s combined expenditure grew to £285 million (H12020: £204m) – “as movements correlated directly to increased gross winnings revenue”.

Closing its interim accounts the group declared an underlying EBITDA of £212 million (H12020: £94m) million, combined with profits before tax of £187 million (H12020: £34m).

On the outlook, the group said it continues to prioritise projects and product development that bolsters its margin generating capacity, supporting the growth of all brands across all operating regions.  

Entering a critical H2 trading period, Kindred sanctioned the acquisition of the remaining shares in technology partner Relax Gaming to bolster its long-term product strategy.

Tjärnström added: “Our different product segments continue to show solid momentum, with the sports segment benefiting from a strong sports betting margin of 10.7 per cent after free bets in the quarter.

“Meanwhile, the casino segment has delivered a record quarter with 18 per cent growth compared to the same period last year, despite this being a sports-heavy quarter.

“This indicates that many of our casino customers remain loyal, even as restrictions start to ease across our markets, and is a testament to our customer experience.”