• Kindred Group Q4 2020 profit jumps to £98.7 million
• New record number of active customers (1.78m)
• Core market grows, US footprint widens
• Report follows Betsson’s positive 2020 results

As with any good gambling story, you win some, and you lose some. Earlier this week, the Kindred Group attracted negative press for opening up about the extent of problem gambling in its customer base. Today, it hit back with hugely positive profit figures for the final quarter of 2020.

Critics will say the two stories are bonded together with glue, but that would be unfair on the owner of 32Red, Unibet and bingo.com.

The company was just first out of the blocks with its inclusion of problem gambling figures, which noted around 4% of its revenue came from high-risk customers. In being open before its rivals, it was always going to get a kicking from the media.

What is worth noting in today’s positive news story, alongside the impressive financials, is the Kindred Group continues to seek approvals in locally regulated markets. It looks ahead to entering the Dutch market this year, and reports that Swedish growth is paying dividends. Globally, it notes that locally regulated markets are outpacing .com ones.

Headline figures show that in the final quarter of 2020, gross winnings revenue came in at £364.7m compared to £236.2m in the same period of 2019.

With Q4 profit after tax jumping to £84.9m (£10.9m), the company has now achieved a positive net cash position of £104.7, compared to a net debt position of £155m in Q4 2019.

‘Safe and Entertaining Gambling’

Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjärnström said: “I am pleased that we can finally put 2020, a difficult year for most people, businesses and countries, behind us. It has certainly been a year we will all remember.

“At Kindred, we have successfully managed to navigate these uncertain times and have continued to attract customers who enjoy a safe and entertaining gambling experience, resulting in several new all-time highs this quarter including active customers and Gross winnings revenue, which increased 54 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to GBP 364.7 million.

“The fourth quarter delivered strong results thanks to our scalable business model, continued focus on costs and impressive growth in active customers to 1.78 million. The busy sports calendar and a slightly higher than normal sports betting margin of 10 per cent, together with encouraging growth of 52 per cent in casino & games compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, have all contributed to our notable growth in Gross winnings revenue.”

He explained that European and Australian business continued to grow and that the Unibet brand was delivering results in the emerging US market, contributing £23.8 million in full-year revenues. This will grow in 2021 with the addition of markets in Illinois and Iowa.

Tjärnström is confident the growth will continue in 2021 across the board. He added: “The year has started well, with the average daily Gross winnings revenue for the first 38 days of 2021 being 41 per cent higher (36 per cent higher in constant currency) than the same period last year.”

Betsson Profits Up

The Kindred Group figures come a day after Betsson revealed its full-year 2020 figures, boasting a 30% increase in operating income, and a 24% rise of group revenue to SEK 6,389.6m.

Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall said: “Online gaming continues to demonstrate its resilience to market fluctuations and Betsson demonstrates good profitability.

“The increase is driven by both casino and sportsbook with a sportsbook margin that was slightly higher compared with the third quarter this year. We are pleased by the continued strong development in the Nordics, especially in Denmark and Sweden, at large driven by the “pay and play” brand Jalla Casino.”