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Stockholm-listed operator Kindred Group has reported a year-on-year increase in revenue for the first half of its financial year, but saw its profits decline in part due to new regulatory costs in Sweden.
Despite competing against a tough comparative period featuring World Cup 2018 trading, Kindred continued its positive revenue momentum by recording year-to-date group gross winnings of £450m (€502.3m) – up 5 per cent on YTD 2018’s £426m (€475.5m).
However, significant increases in operating costs hit earnings over the period. After finance-related costs, pre-tax profit was down 32 per cent to £32.4m (€36.2m), with net profit falling 50% year-on-year to £27.6m (€30.8m).
Reflecting on the results, chief executive Henrik Tjarnstrom praised Kindred for achieving an increase in revenue in what he said was a period with “very tough” comparatives in 2018. He also put the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and profit) declines down to new regulatory measures in Sweden.
“During the first quarter of 2019, the new licensing regulation in Sweden has resulted in significant short-term margin pressure driven by higher betting duties but also higher marketing as we are investing for the longer term,” detailed Tjarnstrom.
Regulated market adjustments and higher operating costs resulted in Kindred posting an H1 2019 period EBITDA of £61m (€68.1m), down 31 per cent on YTD 2018’s £89m (€99.4m).
