Kindred Group posts strong 2021 performance despite “challenging” Q4
2021 was Kindred Group’s strongest year to date, generating nearly £1.26bn ($1.7bn) in total revenue.
Despite a “more challenging” fourth quarter, Kindred’s gross winnings revenue (GWR) experienced an 11% full-year increase, rising to £1.25bn, while its underlying EBITDA climbed by 15% to £332m.
While Q4 saw Kindred’s GWR drop 34% year-on-year, and its EBITDA 77%, a strong performance from both its B2C and B2B businesses for prior quarters saw it end 2021 on a high.
CEO Henrik Tjärnström attributed Kindred’s weaker fourth quarter, especially its low sports betting margin at the outset, to a comparatively strong final three months for 2020.
And due to the Netherlands’ newly regulated iGaming market, Kindred was forced to cease services to Dutch residents.
Nevertheless, he called its Q4 revenues “solid”, with Kindred’s total revenue amounting to more than £240m, while its EBITDA came to £27.6m.
“Closing off 2021, we can look back at a strong year despite a slightly more challenging fourth quarter,” commented Tjärnström.
“Exceptionally strong numbers in 2020 led to tough comparatives for the quarter but despite the low sports betting margin at the beginning of the quarter, and the fact that we ceased services to Dutch residents, our fourth quarter delivered solid revenues.”
Looking forward, Kindred’s CEO was optimistic, expecting an entry into the Netherlands in the not-too-distant future.
“Our Dutch licence application was submitted at the end of November as our “cooling-off” period ended, and the licensing process is advancing according to plan,” said Tjärnström.
He also remarked on Kindred’s acquisition of Relax Gaming, adding: “Our acquisition of Relax Gaming closed on 1 October, and we are working towards achieving the identified annual synergies of £6.9m, as well as leveraging unique Relax content to differentiate our B2C product suite.”
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