Kambi posts revenue and profit growth in 2018
Kambi Group has cited the renewal of contracts with a number of customers as one of the main reasons behind year-on-year growth in revenue and profit for 2018.
Full-year revenue for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018 amounted to €76.2m (£66.9m/$86.4m), up from €62.1m in the previous year.
The sports betting services provider said a significant number of customers renewed their contracts over the past year, which positively impacted revenue growth during the year.
However, Kambi noted an increase in operating expenses for the year, due in part to an increase in staff numbers after expanding its trading and product development teams.
Expenses totalled $63.5m last year, up from €54.4m in 2017, with staff costs in particular increasing from $24.1m to $28.2m.
Meanwhile, profit before tax increased from $7.4m in 2017 to $12.3m in the past year, while profit after tax also climbed from $5.9m to $9.8m. Comprehensive income for the year stood at €9.5m, up from €5.3m in 2017.
Kambi said this is inline with its investment strategy, with a focus on creating a strong business proposition. The supplier will push ahead with this strategy in 2019, with plans in place to open an office in Philadelphia before the end of the first quarter, in order to support its expansion efforts in the US.
CEO Kristian Nylén cited activity in the US as key highlights for Kambi during the past year, singling out sports betting launches with DraftKings at Resorts Casino in New Jersey and Rush Street Interactive's Rivers Casino and SugarHouse in Pennsylvania.
“With the US market high on Kambi’s priority list, our ability to demonstrate our high-quality on-property sportsbook and prompt time-to-market leaves us well-placed moving forward, particularly considering the emphasis US operators and state regulators place on the retail channel.
“When also factoring in the early success we have had online in New Jersey, I'm not surprised Kambi is now seen as the leading multi-channel sports betting supplier in this burgeoning market.”
For the fourth quarter of the year ended December 31, 2018, Kambi revenue amounted to €21.7m, up from €19m in the same period last year. However, operating profit fell from €5m to €4.2m and profit after tax slipped from €3.9m to €3.3m.
Despite this, Nylén was upbeat about the three-month period: “Bearing in mind the comparative period in 2017 delivered Kambi's highest ever operator trading margin, our Q4 2018 performance is particularly pleasing and highlights the positive momentum we have built within the business.”
Meanwhile, Nylén also said that Kambi has started 2019 positively, with the launch of new customers in multiple markets, while the company has also signed an agreement to relaunch the mybet German sports betting brand later this year.
“The business remains in great shape for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” he said.