SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Kambi Group Plc maintains a positive outlook for 2024 trading, as its business overcomes client wagering deficits related to the cessation of its Penn US sportsbook contract.
Publishing its Interim 2024 accounts, the Stockholm-listed sports betting technology group achieved Q2 revenues of €46m (Q2 2023: €43m) and €89m (H1 2023: €87m) for the first half of year trading.
As noted in accounts, Kambi’s “Operator turnover for the second quarter of 2024 was £704m, an increase of 3% versus Q2 2023. The estimated impact on the operator turnover index from Penn online in Q2 2023 was £97m and when excluding Penn online from the comparative quarter, operator turnover increased by 20%, driven by a busy sporting calendar and the growth of new and existing partners.”
Irrespective of Penn impacts, Kambi noted positive trading across its client network, boosted by UEFA Euro 2024 and CONMEBOL Copa America activities, as the tech group’s operating margin stood at a record 13.5%.
On Euro 2024, Kambi noted that client wagering was likely dampened by a series of favourable sports results registered during the tournament.
Period trading saw Kambi underscore a series of commercial highlights strengthening its European client portfolio, including: “expanding its partnership with Bally’s Corporation outside the United States by launching online in the UK, and LeoVegas grew its European presence with an online launch of betMGM in the Netherlands.
“Svenska Spel’s Kambi-powered sportsbook launched online and at approximately 1,800 retail locations in Sweden, and LiveScore Group’s LiveScoreBet brand launched online in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK.”
Indexing an EBITDA margin of 16.4%, Kambi registered Q2 and H1 EBITDA increases respectively of €7.5m (Q2 2023: €5m) and €13m (H1 2023: €10.8m).
Q2 accounts saw period profits jump 67% to €6.2m, as Kambi tracks year-to-date profits of €10.6m, providing a positive outlook to outperform full-year 2023 results of €20m.
Moving forward, Kambi enters a transformative H2 period for its business and commercial operations, changing its leadership and launching new partners and technology services.
As announced on 1 July, Werner Becher will succeed Kristian Nylén as new CEO of the technology group. The leadership transition saw Kambi’s board terminate the firm’s long-term 2027 targets to refocus growth on key technology contracts.
CEO Nylén commented on the leadership transition: “I will be offering my full support to Werner from my new position on the Board of Kambi, where I will also help guide our long-term strategy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Kambi employees, past and present, for their hard work and dedication during my time as CEO over the past 14 years, as well as everyone else who has supported Kambi along the way. I am proud of what we have achieved together and I firmly believe the foundation we have built positions us for future success.”
Commercial developments saw potential expansion into other states pending regulation. Additionally, Kambi’s AI-powered trading division, Tzeract, partnered with the European challenger sportsbook Kwiff to provide its Bet Builder football product ahead of Euro 2024 – as Tzeract services will expand to clients during H2.
Filing his last financial statement as Kambi CEO, Kristian Nylén noted: “The Euros and Copa America tournaments saw us provide all our partners with a market-leading product, enhanced by the delivery of expanded player props markets and Bet Builder capability via our AI trading division Tzeract. During the second half of June, activity on the Kambi platform was at its highest ever levels in terms of bets processed and number of players per day, with our partners receiving an uninterrupted high-quality service throughout.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Kambi employees, past and present, for their hard work and dedication during my time as CEO over the past 14 years, as well as everyone else who has supported Kambi along the way. I am proud of what we have achieved together and I firmly believe the foundation we have built positions us for future success.”
