No Dividend, But Relatively Decent Fiscals Return To Calm Kindred’s Turbulent Year

Still licking its wounds from its American misadventure, the ousting of long-term CEO Henrik Tjärnström and its proposed €2.6 billion sale to French national lottery operator FDJ, relative fiscal calm has quelled Swedish-origin Omnichannel Kindred’s turbulent year.

There’ll be no dividend for stakeholders, given the nature of the sale to La Française des Jeux (FDJ), but there’s a new confirmed corporate chief in the shape of Nils Andén and in headline figures for their as-yet-unaudited Full Year 2023 accounts, the owners of Unibet, Bingo.com and 32Red have posted Gross Annual Revenue of £1.21 billion, up 13 percent compared to 2022.

Underlying EBITDA increased by 58 percent to £204.5 million. Profit before tax was £59.5 million and after-tax profits were £47.2 million.

“I am grateful and proud to have received the board’s confidence to continue in the role as CEO,” said Andén.

“We have a great team who are working hard to deliver on an exciting strategy that will strengthen Kindred’s position in locally regulated markets. I look forward to continuing to execute on our plan.”

Increases were pushed by Kindred’s return to the newly re-regulated Dutch market in July 2022 and strong growth in the UK and casino vertical.

But sales costs grew near 10 percent to £530.7 million, while admin costs also surged by over 12 percent to £318.2 million.

Momentum

“[It’s been] an eventful and busy year,” conceded Andén.

“[But] I can conclude that Kindred is establishing a stronger and more robust foothold in core markets across Europe.

“Operational initiatives announced in November 2023 continue at pace, with a controlled exit from North America and reduction in headcount being actions taken to improve profitability.

“I remain confident that Kindred can deliver above-market growth across our portfolio during 2024. We see robust performance in select core markets, and I expect this momentum to continue going forward.”

In Q4 Kindred’s total revenue grew by two percent, year-on-year, to £312.9 million. And EBITDA jumped 45 percent to £56.8 million.

But the group’s retreat from the American market, which impacted around £70 million, was a prime driver of the £19.1 million loss posted in the quarter, after a healthy profit in Q4 the previous year.

Added Nylén: “Our performance demonstrates that Kindred is able to grow profitably within highly regulated markets.

During 2023, 82 percent of our gross winnings revenue was generated from locally regulated markets.”

“I remain confident that Kindred can deliver above-market growth across our portfolio during 2024. We see robust performance in select core markets, and I expect this momentum to continue going forward.”