Kambi revenue jumps 33 pct during 1Q20

Kambi released its financial report for the first quarter of the year and revealed a 33% revenue increase to €27.9 million.

UK.- Despite going through a tough period during the pandemic, Kambi reported good results for the first quarter of 2020. In the first three months of the year, the company’s revenue reached €27.9 million, 33% up year-on-year.

The company also reported operating profit (EBIT) of €6.8 million, with a margin of 24.5% and Profit after Tax amounted to €4.8 million. Moreover, earnings per share for the first quarter of 2020 were €0.156 (up from 0.066 in 1Q19) and cash flow from operating and investing activities (excluding working capital movements) amounted to €4.1 million.

“The coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact on people’s lives and livelihoods and represents a global challenge of the like we have never faced before. Industries of all kinds have been affected and interrupted, with our own sports betting industry no exception. 

The sports calendar has been stripped bare across the world, with major leagues and events being cancelled or postponed, quite rightly, until safety can be guaranteed. And while I have no doubt sports will return, the current situation has understandably led to a reduction in our revenues, although our teams have done a wonderful job to stem the flow and ensure our partners have a good product to sell. In the final weeks of Q1 and early Q2, we have been running at approximately 25-30% of previous levels in Q1, despite our increasingly material retail business being all but closed.

Despite the much lighter sporting calendar during the latter weeks of the first quarter, Kambi posted strong growth numbers. Operator turnover for the period was up 27% while our revenue increased by a third to €27.9m. EBIT was €6.8m, and we ended Q1 with a cash balance of €46.3m, a sum which will help us withstand the worst-case scenario: an extended period without major sports.

It’s worth highlighting the momentum we had built before the pandemic began to make its presence felt on the sporting calendar. Up to and including 12 March, Kambi’s average daily operator turnover in Q1 was up 47% on the respective period in Q1 2019, and on track to eclipse our record operator turnover of the previous quarter, with it ahead 7% on the comparative period in Q4 2019, despite fewer American football fixtures due to the season’s end.

Furthermore, on 9 and 11 March we processed the first legal bets in the states of Illinois and Michigan respectively. This continued our fantastic performance of getting partners to market quickly with a high quality and compliant sports betting service. To illustrate, Kambi is now active in 10 US states, achieving market firsts on eight occasions. In addition, we recently received our licence for the state of Colorado, where we expect to go live soon.

As announced earlier this month, we introduced a major cost saving programme, to which our staff have readily adapted. I must thank our people for the resilience they have shown during this difficult period. I feel proud of their commitment to our partners to deliver a quality service under the circumstances.

We owe it to our all our employees, partners and investors to ensure we are in the strongest position possible to pick up where we left off when sports do resume, and we enter what promises to be a prolonged period of busy sporting action. I’m confident the cost saving measures we’ve introduced in recent weeks, our strong balance sheet, and the flexibility we have retained to be back running at 100% capacity almost immediately, will ensure we are able to do so, alongside our fantastic partners.

So even though our momentum has been slowed by the unfortunate events of recent months, the decisions we have taken see us well placed to move through the gears as soon as the virus is under control and major sports return. There are positive signs some leagues and tours may resume before or during the summer, albeit behind closed doors, and when they do, we’ll be ready.”

You are invited to participate in a report presentation at 10.45 (CEST) with Kambi Group plc’s CEO Kristian Nylén and CFO David Kenyon. The presentation will be held in English via a telephone conference and can also be accessed via an audiocast using this link.