Kindred Group Q3 revenues drop 2% on Sweden slowdown
Drop-off caused by customer challenges in the operator’s core market and a lower than usual sportsbook margin
Kindred Group this morning reported a 2% dip in Q3 revenues to £226m as the operator continues to struggle to attract high-value players in Sweden.
EBITDA for the third quarter dropped to £37.2m, down from £55.7m in 2018, with a £12.8m EBITDA contribution decline from Sweden compared to last year.
A lower-than-usual sportsbook margin in September was also a contributing factor, as Q3 profits dipped to £18.1m, down from £36.9m in 2018.
Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjärnström
Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjärnström said: “Similar to what we saw in the first half of 2019, re-regulation in Sweden resulted in difficult market conditions in the third quarter.
“The current terms and conditions make it challenging to attract customers into the system and can lead to worsening channelisation.
“We also continue to experience headwinds in the Netherlands due to the removal of the iDeal payment solution,” he added.
Tjärnström echoed NetEnt in questioning the regulator’s 91% channelisation figure, adding that the removal of a B2B licence condition during the regulatory process was a clear oversight.
Kindred’s share price increased by 9% in early trading, with investors likely buoyed by the operator’s early October performance.
Daily average gross winnings revenue was 9% higher than the same period last year and active customers were 2% higher than the equivalent period in 2018.