Kindred Group’s second quarter revenue slumped by 34% as the firm blames “temporary headwinds” but continues with long-term optimism.

Total revenue (B2C and B2B) was GBP 485.4 (716.3) million. Gross winnings revenue (B2C) decreased by 34 per cent to GBP 475.9 (716.3) million.

Excluding the Netherlands, Gross winnings revenue declined by 10 per cent (8 per cent in constant currency). Underlying EBITDA decreased by 77 per cent to GBP 49.8 (219.7) million.

CEO Henrik Tjärnström comments the second quarter of 2022 “After a period of short-term headwinds, I look to the future with confidence as we see good progress with the Group’s key strategic priorities. We have received our long-awaited Dutch licence, our Kindred Sportsbook Platform (KSP) remains firmly on track, and Relax Gaming continues to show strong numbers. We are also nearing the end of a period of very tough COVID-19 comparatives, which have been giving a skewed view of our performance.”

“The second quarter is a seasonally low period of activity as sports leagues end, with major football tournaments only take place every other year. With an exceptional period of sports in 2021, with Euros 2020 causing higher-than-normal activity during Q2 2021, we are now back to a normal sports calendar. This, together with a sports betting margin of 9.3 (10.7) per cent after free bets for the quarter (significantly lower than the same period last year), have resulted in a year-on-year decline of 28 per cent in sports betting revenue when excluding the Netherlands.”

“On 8 June we finally received our licence from the Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) and a process to connect all our systems and processes to the KSA began. We opened our doors to Dutch players on 4 July and have seen strong customer intake and activity in the period between 4 and 19 July. I am very pleased with this initial performance and expect to see our Unibet brand gradually reclaim a leading position in the Netherlands.”

“During the last year, the UK market has been impacted by stricter affordability checks self-imposed by the industry. These measures can be expected to continue over the coming quarters. Whilst impacting revenues in the short term, this ensures a more sustainable customer base.”

“The development of our proprietary sportsbook continues at pace and according to plan. We are recruiting spearhead competence to our tech and product teams, and the spirit in these teams is high. Once operational, our KSP will give us a unique and important flexibility to tailor our offering towards our customers across the world, providing them with an unforgettable experience and providing Kindred with a highly scalable platform while reducing our cost base.”

“We have an exciting period ahead of us with the Dutch market up and running, the continued development of our proprietary sportsbook, and not least the 2022 World Cup taking place in November and December. We also expect the headwinds experienced during past quarters to gradually ease off in the coming quarters. We have prepared and built our team and offering for the future, which we are now ready to fully embrace.”