Unibet Owner Reports 29% Increase in Revenue in Q2

Kindred Group Plc, the owner of sports betting operator Unibet, had a good first quarter but resignations from the group’s chief executive and CFO meant the company didn’t know quite what to expect from its second quarterly report.

However, with Kindred generating $587.85 million (£307.3 million) in revenue and recording a 29% increase in Q2 2023, there was no reason to worry to begin with.

82% of Gross Winnings Come from Locally Regulated Markets

According to the Kindred Group Plc Interim Report January-June 2023, the group’s total revenue in the first half of 2023 was $1.174 billion (£613.7 million), an increase of 26%.

Kindred’s average revenue per user increased by 9% compared to Q2 in 2022, while the number of active bettors grew by 17%. Most of Kindred’s new customers were in the growing Dutch market.

The company highlighted the fact that 82% of its gross winnings came from locally regulated markets. It also emphasized that “the strong increase in revenue” and “the scalability of the business model” resulted in an EBITDA margin of 18%.

Surprisingly, gross winnings revenue figures in Australia dropped by 26% in Q2 2023 compared to Q2 2022. The group attributes the decline to lower activity by customers and decreased sports betting turnover.

A Scalable Business Model

Interim Kindred Group CEO Nils Anden said that as the company’s revenue increased, everyone could “see the true scalability” of the business model. Anden was pleased that Kindred managed to optimize its cost base, with EBIDTA reaching $106.55 million (£55.7 million) which represented an 18% margin.

April and May were the strongest months for the group, while June was slower, but that was to be expected considering the decreased number of sporting events available. The fact that Wimbledon took place in Q3 had an effect on June numbers being lower too.

Unibet’s owner expects the second half of the year to be as productive as the first and hopes events such as the Women’s World Cup will help them reach new customers.

Anden said the success of the European soccer championship for women illustrated how much women’s soccer has grown and World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand would result in similar success.