K
indred Group reported Friday gross winnings revenue at an all-time high of nearly GBP 280 million (USD 364.88 M) in the third quarter, an annual growth of 24 percent from the same period of 2019.
The sports betting margin after free bets was just over 8 percent —below both the long-term average and the third quarter of 2019), but this was offset by continued strong activity levels across the business, the company noted in a press release. Though the sports calendar has continued to be disrupted, the delay in completion of many 2019-20 seasons and short break before the start of 2020-21 seasons has meant a continuous stream of events.
Underlying EBITDA for the third quarter of 2020 is estimated to be in the range of GBP 73-75 million (USD 97.73 M), up from GBP 37.2 million in Q3 2019, and higher than current consensus. “The strong revenue growth, combined with Kindred’s prudent management of marketing investments due to COVID-19 and continued focus on other operating costs, are the main factors driving the increase in EBITDA,” the company said.
Kindred explained that the level of marketing investment remained unusually low in July due to the pandemic, but has returned towards levels slightly below the long term average in the second half of the third quarter. Therefore, the marketing spend came in at approximately 21 percent of gross winnings revenue in the quarter.
Active customers for the quarter amounted to 1.65 million, which was an increase of 19 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
The Interim report for the third quarter of 2020 will be published on 6 November 2020.
