Kindred Group Plc remains on target to achieve its full-year corporate and financial objectives, despite undertaking necessary changes to proceed with its takeover by Française des Jeux (FDJ).
Publishing its Q3 accounts, leadership underlines that “Kindred is on the right trajectory to achieve its £250m underlying EBITDA target for the full year 2024 trading.”
Period trading saw Kindred generate corporate revenues of £295m, up 4% on Q3 2023 comparatives of £283m. Excluding North American impacts, group revenues increased by 6%.
Kindred’s brand portfolio benefitted from high activity, with 1.7m active customers (+9%) engaging with the UEFA Euro championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Providing a breakdown of product segments, Kindred registered sportsbook Q3 gross win revenues of £105m, up 11% on 2023 results of £94m.
Boosted by the start of a new European football season, sportsbook growth was primarily attributed to a 20% uplift in Western Markets GWR, reaching £74m.
The firm’s Gaming segment, including Casino, Poker, and other B2C products, remained flat at £178m, with Kindred recording 0% growth in Western Europe and the Nordics, and an 80% drop in ‘Other’ markets.
Period trading saw Kindred face regulatory adjustments in Belgium and Sweden requiring the “separation of different gambling products.” In the UK, new affordability measures introduced earlier this year led to a decline in revenue, but leadership remains confident in the market’s long-term potential.
Q3 underlying EBITDA reached £63m, reflecting a 49% increase. Profit before tax was £12.5m, impacted by £31m in strategic review costs.
Year-to-date trading sees Kindred track an underlying EBITDA of £196m, up by 33%. Profit before tax stands at £107m, impacted by strategic review costs of £34m.
As of 24 October, Kindred applied for delisting of its remaining shareholding on the Nasdaq Stockholm. Kindred will announce the last day of trading as soon as Nasdaq Stockholm confirms the date to the company.
Ahead of its merger and integration with FDJ, Kindred’s leadership will prioritize maintaining and enhancing cost controls.
CEO Nils Andén explained, “We have continued to demonstrate disciplined cost control throughout the period. Operational expenses will continue to decrease versus the first and second quarters of 2024, due in part to the full closure of the North American market. Our cost-cutting programme, initiated in November 2023, has been highly successful.
Year-to-date, we have seen a £17.9 million reduction in operating costs (salaries and other operating expenses) versus the same period last year. Going forward, we see significant opportunities to further improve our cost-effectiveness through continued cost control and careful implementation of AI and automation.”