New sports betting partner launches in the US states of Illinois and Michigan coincided with a positive pre-coronavirus opening quarter of the year for Kambi Group.Up to mid-March, Kambi’s average daily operator turnover was 47 per cent up on the same period in 2019 and seven per cent better than Q4 2019.
Overall, revenue for Q1 2020 stood at €27.9m (Q1 2019: €21m), an increase of 33 per cent. Operating profit (EBIT) for the first quarter of 2020 was €6.8m (€2.6m), with a margin of 24.5 per cent (12.4 per cent) and profit after tax was €4.8m (€2.0m) for Q1. Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2020 were €0.156 (€0.066) and cash flow from operating and investing activities (excluding working capital movements) amounted to €4.1m (€1.1m).
However, the suspension of sport globally is expected to have a major impact on Kambi’s figures for the next quarter, said CEO Kristian Nylén: “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 per cent of previous levels in Q1, despite our increasingly material retail business being all but closed.”
