Craig has been in journalism since 2011, after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire the previous year. Several roles in the news and sports print media ensued, before a two year stint travelling. Upon...
Read Full BioOnline gaming operator Kindred Group has praised continued strong momentum enjoyed throughout the year’s third quarter, with a busy sporting calendar and high customer activity singled out for particular praise.
Delivering a trading update for the period, the firm says that strong revenue growth combined with lower marketing investment and careful management of the overall cost base drove a significant increase in underlying EBITDA.
During the quarter, Kindred has seen gross winnings revenue come in at an all time high of approximately £280m (2019: £226m), representing growth of 24 per cent year-on-year.
Sports betting margin after free bets was just over eight per cent, below both the long-term average and the third quarter of 2019, however this was offset by continued strong activity levels across the business.
Active customers for the quarter amounted to 1.65m, which represents an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same quarter one year ago.
Underlying EBITDA for the quarter is estimated to be in the range of £73m-75m (2019: £37.2m), with strong revenue growth, combined with prudent management of marketing investments due to COVID-19 and continued focus on other operating costs said to be primary factors in driving the increase.
Kindred also says that its level of marketing investment remained unusually low in July, as a result of COVID-19, but that this has returned towards levels slightly below the long term average in the second half of the third quarter. As a consequence, the marketing spend came in at approximately 21 per cent of gross winnings revenue in the quarter.
The company will publish its interim report for the third quarter of 2020 on November 6, 2020.
This week, Kindred Group strengthened its US-focused collaboration with independent gambling harm minimisation consultancy Epic Risk Management.
Following Epic’s recent expansion into the US market, the firm has once again teamed up with the group to provide training and development sessions for their staff in the country.
Calling sustainability and player protection “a key aspect” of its US operations, the move comes as the operator targets expansion into more states during the next year.
