Kindred Group has released its Q4 results for 2023. Total revenue came to £312.9m ($397.7m), reflecting year-on-year growth of 2.4%, with particular praise given to the growth of Relax Gaming and development in Romania, the UK and the Netherlands.
The results come following an announcement earlier today of La Française des Jeux’s (FDJ) intention to acquire Kindred Group. The buyout, with Kindred shares at SEK 130 ($12.43) per share, reflects a 24% premium over the share price reported at the end of trade on 19 January 2024.
The buyout would result in FDJ owning more than 90% of Kindred shares. However, a statement by the Kindred Board of Directors has stated that even if the takeover was to come into effect, the company intends to safeguard its employees and management.
The statement also noted that ‘FDJ does not intend to materially alter the operations of Kindred following the implementation of the offer, other than the exit from the Norwegian market and those other non-regulated markets with no ongoing path to regulation.’
The buyout would significantly impact FDJ’s gross gaming revenue (GGR), from its current international presence of 6% to an estimated 20%.
The period for Kindred Group to make a decision on the offer will commence in late February and will remain until mid-November.
Of the reported total revenue of £312.9m, Kindred Group reported a gross profit of £176.2m and underlying EBITDA of £56.8m. This is an underlying EBITDA increase of 45.3%. Moreover, full-year growth in underlying EBITDA has increased from £129.2m in 2022 to £204.5m in 2023, for full-year growth of 58.3%.
Despite EBITDA growth, total revenue has remained steady across the past year, with only minor increases and decreases in revenue. The most notable of these was the increase from Q3 2023 to Q4, with revenue up 10.2%.
While Relax Gaming and certain territories generated growth for Kindred, the company also noted how new regulatory measures in Norway and Belgium have negatively impacted growth. Examples of this include VAD’s calling for the gambling age in Belgium to be raised to 21.
Overall, the growth in Kindred Group’s total revenue and underlying EBITDA make it a valuable asset, were it to be acquired by FDJ.
