Super Group (SGHC) Limited (SGHC) Q2 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Thank you for standing by. My name is Jay, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Super Group Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Webcast and Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Nkem Ojougboh, Head of Investor Relations for Super Group. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Super Group's results for the second quarter 2026. During this call, Super Group may make comments of a forward-looking nature that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed further in its SEC filings, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or from our forecast. We assume no responsibility to update forward-looking statements other than as required by law. On today's call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures are in addition to and not a substitute for measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are included in the press release issued yesterday and available on the Investor Relations page of our website. We recommend that investors refer to the supplementary presentation posted on our website. Today, I'm joined by Neal Menashe, Chief Executive Officer; and Alinda Van Wyk, Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, we will open the call up for questions. And now I'd like to turn the call over to Neal.

Thank you, Nkem, and good morning, everyone. I am pleased to report that the second quarter 2026 marked another exceptional period for Super Group, surpassing the record set in the first quarter. Revenue, adjusted EBITDA, deposits and wagering activity all reached new highs, supported by strong underlying momentum across the business and increased engagement during the FIFA World Cup. As announced yesterday, we are super excited about our landmark partnership with Manchester United, making Betway the club's principal partner and exclusive global betting partner for the upcoming English Premier League season starting later this month. This partnership will further enhance Betway's profile across United's massive worldwide fan base. Man U status is arguably Africa's most popular football club, strongly aligns with our long-term brand and growth objectives. The World Cup drove exceptional customer acquisition and solid cross-sell across the business. New customer acquisition increased more than threefold compared with the prior World Cup period. During the tournament, customers placed over 166 million football bets. Approximately 60% of those bets or 100 million were on World Cup matches. Our sports margin hit a record 17% for the quarter, reflecting improved pricing and risk management, the continued growth of parlays and most importantly, the quality and durability of our customer base. Our focus remains on acquiring and retaining customers who generate sustainable long-term value. Our super persistent annuity revenue model is intended to sustain customer cohorts that generate predictable revenues and profits. This disciplined approach is intended to ensure robust long-term returns that are coupled with healthy and sustainable unit economics. We see this working particularly well in Africa, which delivered another outstanding quarter. Revenue grew 36% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 47% to $133 million, driven by broad-based growth across the region. Sports and casino wages were up 5% and 28%, respectively, year-over-year. Looking ahead, we continue to see attractive opportunities to expand our footprint and remain on track for the expected launch of Namibia in Q4. We also remain focused on increasing the utility of our ZAR Supercoin. We are expanding wallet functionality, broadening exchange access and advancing the phased rollout strategy while building the foundation for broader adoption and remittance across key African markets. International grew 7% year-over-year. Ex the U.S., it was 12%, while adjusted EBITDA held steady at $84 million, with strong underlying growth offset by the U.K. tax and short-term cost of strategic generosity key campaigns that we expect will deliver ongoing benefits in due course. In Europe, revenue grew 22%, led by a 34% increase in the U.K., which delivered record revenue in May. Ireland was up 18% year-over-year. We expect to launch slots in Germany this month, bringing our full product suite to the market. North America, excluding the U.S., grew 9%. Canada ex-Ontario delivered 11% revenue growth, supported by strong retention and continued product enhancement. In Alberta, revenue was up 8% year-over-year, ahead of the province's regulated market launch on July 13. We are approaching the rollout in a disciplined and phased manner to support sustainable long-term growth. Rest of world revenue increased 6%, led by strong performance in New Zealand, which grew 14% year-over-year despite reduced marketing spend. We are preparing for local licensing and positioning the business for a seamless transition to a regulated market. With that, I'll turn the call over to Alinda.

Thank you, Neal. Quarter 2 2026 delivered a record total revenue of $684 million, up 18% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA grew 30% to $204 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 30% compared with 27% in the prior year period. Average monthly active customers reached 6.2 million, up 13% year-over-year. Total wagering increased 8% for sports and 15% for casino. Free cash flow conversion reached 68% in the first half of the year. We closed the quarter with $548 million in cash, up 39% year-over-year, even after returning $25 million to shareholders this past quarter and $218 million over the last 12 months. Disciplined cost management, the enduring strength of our casino business, a boosted sports performance driven by the World Cup, enhanced pricing and our commitment to high return markets are all reflected in these results. Supported by our efficient approach to capital allocation, our balance sheet remains as robust as ever. Finally, as a result of our strong first half performance and a solid start to the third quarter, we are pleased to raise our full year 2026 guidance. We now expect total revenue to be more than $2.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be greater than $710 million. I will now hand back to Neal for closing remarks.

Thank you, Alinda. Over the first half of 2026, we have once again demonstrated the strength of our brands, business model and customer base. We are driving growth through disciplined execution and operational excellence. Given our exceptional performance and the strength of our balance sheet, capital allocation is very much front of mind for both management and the Board. While we remain committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet, we recognize that we have excess cash. As shareholders ourselves, our interests are closely aligned with yours, and we're actively evaluating the most effective ways to deploy our capital to maximize long-term shareholder value. With steady momentum, our highly engaged customer base, our new Man U partnership kicking off the football season and multiple growth drivers at play, we believe Super Group is well positioned for the remainder of 2026. Operator, please can you open the call up for questions?

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Jed Kelly of Oppenheimer.

Another nice quarter. Just circling back, I guess, given all the engagement in the World Cup, can you just talk about your MAUs and your marketing being down, I think it was down 2% year-over-year, and just kind of your choice to maybe not market as much as we thought and then some of the sequential decline we saw in MAUs?

Sure, I can talk, no problem. Yes, the headline number for MAU is down, but it's not a concern for us. There are a number of reasons. The World Cup was great for acquisition, and we saw super engagement from those customers. But you must bear in mind, it was only 2 weeks of the quarter, and 3 weeks before that, there was no soccer at all. So what we're seeing is very normal seasonality for the quarter as a whole. And the quarter, we also had some tax effects to deal with the 2 smaller African markets. This had an impact on customer counts at the lower value add, but revenue still grew sequentially, and these markets' mix grew sequentially. So we're very happy with that. Overall, we expect resumption of customers in Q3 and Q4, in line with prior quarters on the back of the new EPL season, of course, the Man U new partnership. But remember, this is also key for us. The key driver for us is super persistent annuity, profitable revenue per customer. And I think you see that coming through in our results. And on the marketing, I'll hand over to Alinda.

Thanks, Jed. Yes, the marketing is down around 1%. Seasonality plays a role because quarter 2 is normally a much quieter period for us around marketing. We're also pleased with our World Cup acquisition campaigns, but we did not spend as much as that you would expect. The reason for that is, remember, the time zone for the World Cup is quite not ideal for our book and a large portion for our customers is outside the time zones. And we expect to revision back to our guide of around 21% to 22% for the remainder of the year.

Great. And then just for my follow-up, Alinda, can you just help us think about the back half cadence between third and fourth quarter this year? I know I think last year, fourth quarter might have been impacted by adverse sports results. So just any way you can just help us with the cadence would be great.

Yes. So we've got -- remember, 2024 was a very hard comp. And then we had the adverse effect of the sports in quarter 4 2025. We expect -- that's what makes guidance quite difficult for us around the sports, and we're quite consistent in our approach just to be a bit more conservative around that. It will be normal levels that you've seen in the first half of the year. Our marketing discipline, like I said, will be back at 21%, 22%. And we've got high confidence in our business and in our customers. So we still have embedded in the half year guide of organic growth, no aggressive persistency assumptions. And we still see the continued support and the momentum from the customers post the World Cup. But -- and then we've just also just embedded the U.K. tax effect and Alberta tax is from July onwards in our guide, for the half year, but very consistent to what we've previously put out.

Your next question comes from the line of Jordan Bender of Citizens.

I want to start in Nigeria, still early days there. I know you've been looking at the strategy in the country this year. But how has that strategy and product evolved over the course of the year? And how do you anticipate to be competitive with the 2 top operators there that have a strong retail presence in that market?

Neal here. Obviously -- so Nigeria is obviously a big opportunity. It's the largest population in Africa, growing TAMs, et cetera. What we're doing and we've been doing it and we're still doing it is improve technology, improving our product, our team and our bench strength. We signed Don Jazzy as an ambassador. So we launched driving acquisition and brand recognition there. We're diversifying our marketing channels. So remember, Nigeria is still very small relative to our other African countries. So we really are optimizing the debt. So it's coming together. The numbers are going in the right direction [indiscernible].

Okay. And then, at the end of the prepared remarks, you kind of circled back to the capital allocation piece. Is there any change to how you think about how you're allocating capital outside of your dividend? You kind of talked about the most effective ways. I'm just kind of curious, has that changed in your mind of how you want to allocate capital?

Thanks for the question. We are actively working with our Board around this, and we recognize that we have excess cash. With that said, there's no change in our approach at this point. We -- discipline comes first, but we remain flexible. We believe in organic growth. So we're going after opportunities with a high return of investment. And we -- like we said, we'll up the marketing spend again. And -- but we also have dividends and buybacks always on front of mind. And for M&A, staying disciplined around opportunities that make sense to us, bolt-on opportunities that will strengthen our core. So very consistent to prior approaches, but it's definitely -- we focus on it all the time.

And I think -- sorry, and [indiscernible] obviously, when it comes to an even M&A, we're selected. And also, we don't have lots of debt, we are placing minimal debt, and we don't want to lack the flexibility. So we're really in a good place. And the operating cash flow is coming into the business.

Your next question comes from the line of Bernie McTernan of Needham & Company.

Maybe just to start, I would love to dive into Alberta a little bit more, maybe in terms of what the underlying guidance is, assuming, in terms of either retaining the revenue that you have in the region now or even growing it.

Okay. So -- okay. So let's talk Alberta. So obviously, all brands have to follow the local regulation by the middle of October, right? So we focused on, obviously, the regulation readiness and getting the tech, everything working really well there. We're taking on a phased brand rollout approach, unlike Ontario, which was a big bang, you had to move everyone over on a set date. So for us, it's making sure the UX is right, focused on our HVC, the VIP cohorts to ensure the retention. But overall, we expect also a more rational competitive environment in Alberta versus what happened in Ontario. But we've got time for the next few months to do it. So everything is on track, and our teams are very happy with it.

That's great. And then maybe just a quick follow-up for Alinda. We said G&A, the adjusted G&A step up this quarter sequentially from about $90 million to $100 million. Was there any kind of onetime in nature there or any increased costs that we should be thinking about going forward?

Great pickup, Bernie. It is 100% like you said, there is quite -- this 40% of that increase is about one-off costs. There was some audit alignment for 2025 audit and some additional tech and infrastructure costs. Also keep in mind that we've acquired 2 operational businesses. We brought in the Apricot business, operational business, so about 100 headcount as well as a small eMarket -- marketing company called [ eMarket ]. So that spiked the G&A, but the savings and the operating leverage will now standardize that call and stabilize that amount towards the end of this quarter, down again to a more normal benchmark of high $90 million -- low $90 million, sorry.

Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Sigdahl of Craig-Hallum.

I want to focus on some of the trading and operational things internationally. I know you're bringing some of the product from Africa to the international markets as well as the Apricot integration, but curious for an update on some of the synergies and cost optimizations and product enhancements you've seen from those 2 initiatives.

Okay. So I think funny enough, there is some cross-pollination, what I've been talking about is top of mind. We've been doing it from an international to Africa and Africa back into international. I mean I'm pleased to announce that all our call centers now are under one roof, on one tech stack, including our risk, and we are seeing massive opportunities there. I think you can see in our margins, everywhere we look in our EBITDA margins, in our sports margins, it's all starting to kick in. We've got the personalized pricing, our features. We're pushing different sports in Africa. It's finally all coming together. And this is the key of this what we call operating efficiency, product efficiencies, marketing efficiencies. Even the marketing efficiencies are starting to come in. So we really are -- remember, Alinda and I've talking about this a lot. It's all about increasing that margin. And I think this quarter, you see it went to almost 30%, right, which is even ahead of our own expectations, right? And most of -- we also got cross-sell opportunities. But I think we are really super happy with our teams, our product teams, our trading teams, and we're finally working as one Super Group and bringing the best to every country we operate.

Looking at Slide 8, African new market expansion potential. Good to see Namibia coming in Q4. You mentioned excess cash and trying to figure out what to do with it. I count 7 additional adjacent countries there that seem very logical places to place some of that cash as an investment. But how do you think about kind of expansion, the need for cash and if that's a potential use for it and then the time line to expand into those countries? And if some of your recent expansions maybe accelerates some of the timeline that you've talked about in the past?

Yes. So we are excited about Namibia. Remember, it borders Botswana and South Africa. So the brand recognition is really high. And there are obviously other markets around there as well, but we have to get the taxes right and how the money flows. There's Zimbabwe, Rwanda, there's lots of them. So we also aim to launch probably 1 to 3 countries a year. I think 3 would be the top end, but like 1 or 2, but it's got to make sense. And of course, we've got this loads of money that if there are opportunities that are priced right, and we can execute on, then we will obviously delve into that.

And just to add there, because our trusted global brands already resonate in these African countries, it is quite low cost to market for us. So it's not like a launch in international market. African market launch is quite efficient and at a low value.

Yes. And then I would add as you have the headline of the Man U partnership. But I think what everyone needs to understand is if you take the top 3 teams who came first, second and third in the English Premier League, the EPL last season, we are now the exclusive global betting partner for every single one of it. So Arsenal, Man City and Man U. So when you see those games, you're only going to be seeing Betway. Remember, football soccer in Africa is our #1 bet on sport, and that's definitely the biggest league.

Your next question comes from the line of Mike Hickey of StoneX.

Neal, Alinda, Nkem, great quarter, guys. Congratulations. I guess just on the World Cup, obviously, you gave us some really incremental data on your success there. But Neal, just curious overall, maybe relative to your expectations, how you view the success of the World Cup now that you've had a chance to digest that. How we should think about how you build momentum on that in terms of customer retention, casino cross-sell, which I think has started really strong and maybe that -- how that sort of sets you up for Q3 trading that we're in now and maybe the second half overall?

So okay, when it comes to the World Cup, right, obviously the meaning was -- really a meaningful acquisition and engagement catalyst. So that's for us with the sportsbook inflows. We did like almost 50% cross-sell into casino from those new customers. But here's some stuff about the World Cup, and I did mention this before, right? The time zones were not ideal for a vast majority of our customers. And remember, in the World Cup, a big part of our business is parlays, right? But they want 10D, 12D, 14D. You don't get that in the World Cup. So for us, the World Cup was great, but it was not like this unbelievable event that we had. Our unbelievable events are what's about to start in August, September with the soccer season. But -- and we are very happy with how it's gone and how the activation of those customers. And the cross-sell has been great as I said. And again, I mean, I keep saying this, sorry, we keep bringing this up, and I think we have to, the persistency of our cohorts continues to be as strong as ever. And even in our investor deck, I think on Page 10, it is showing the cohort analysis we have put it in the deck this time along, you can see that layer caking is as it needs to be, makes fans very happy.

A follow-up on the Africa question from Ryan. Is Angola a new launch country? I know we've got Namibia for Q4. Are we also doing Angola now? And is that new to your guidance?

No, it's not -- we just showed some of the countries. All these countries are in play. We just have to make sure that, again, the taxes and the way we can operate in those markets make sense. So it's all fluid. We've got lots of them on the go, but the ones which will come to fruition is if we can get the banking and everything right. So they're all within our sight, and it's just got to make sense financially to be able to do this.

All right. Great. Last question. Congrats on the Manchester United deal. Obviously, you already have some significant sponsorship deals. How are you able to add Manchester to your stable of other IP here and keep costs manageable, like it sounds like they're going to be in the second half. And how quickly do you think this new partnership can start to be a contributor for you in terms of customer acquisition and revenue?

So I think, remember, and Alinda's point to this, we aim to be between 21% to 22% of revenue. So this is within that guide. So -- and remember, our total marketing brand is a portion of the total market. And I think with Man United, it is one of the most recognizable sports club in the world. And in Africa, I think it's got the biggest fan base. So for us, it's just adding another team on top of that. But we've still got the other team we've got. We still got the other leagues we do. So it's all part of our strategy. But again, this is not a strategy. It's a portion of the strategy. And this is what given our leadership in Africa, partnering with them is just natural for us. And I think this is a long-term investment in our brand strength that then supports our sustainable customer growth across the key markets and just adds to then our digital marketing comes on top of that, et cetera. So listen, for us really exciting. And just a -- I'm a Man U fan, but I understand how unbelievable this football team is worldwide.

Your next question comes from the line of Chad Beynon of Macquarie.

Nice quarter. I wanted to ask about the U.K. business. I know previously, you talked about the mitigation efforts and what the expected impact would be post the iGaming tax increase back in April. It sounds like the revenues and the profits are definitely better than expected. Can you just kind of talk about the cadence of what's happening in the market and if you expect to see maybe mitigation vary versus what you originally announced?

Thanks Chad, for your question. We have significant product improvements this quarter as well in the U.K. You can see it from the revenue uplift. Our marketing is really returning to what we're spending at the moment, which is really a good strategy and happy with that performance. We continue to, like we said previously, if your taxes go up, you have to be efficient around your marketing spend, actually around all your economics. And we have to improve every single dollar we spend in the U.K. So we're very happy with how the U.K. is going. We see obviously the impact on the EBITDA at this point in time in the international results. But it is so important to note that by optimizing marketing to becoming efficient in the way we operate in that market, would just deliver better margin in that jurisdiction.

And I'll just add, as we deploy more and more of our sports product enhancements, we've seen the revenue stick even more. And that's really, really been great. Plus our -- plus we've been clever in our casino operations there and the whole market has now reassessed the U.K. market and the cost of acquisitions, et cetera. So we're definitely seeing that play. And remember, we're not a major player in the U.K. So there's a lot of market share we are getting. And that's again why when we've got our overall brand that we spend taking Man United, Arsenal, et cetera, we amortize that over all the countries, not just the U.K., but in the U.K., obviously, it's present a lot. So it gets a natural spillover there as well.

And then maybe related to the U.K., I know there was an announcement during the quarter from a competitor just in terms of an acquisition. So with your $500 million of cash and no debt, how are you prioritizing M&A? And are there markets that are more on your radar versus what you had previously talked about at the Investor Day recently?

Yes. Listen, M&A is always top of mind. I think we've been right so far. We need to be highly selective and the price must be right. We must be able to add value. We will not overpay and we do not need to rush. But again, we're always looking on bolt-on. We're always looking at M&A. And you're right, we've got this money. We've got our shares. We've got lots of things to be able to use, but the deal has to make sense. And I think we'll see a better pricing over the coming months and years based on where some of our competitors are who've been very acquisitive in the past, but now have this huge debt pile that they have to service.

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Weber of Canaccord Genuity.

Congrats on the strong quarter. Maybe just to dive a little deeper on the World Cup. I think I saw a 21% World Cup gross margin versus 11% in 2022. Could you just unpack a little bit more how much of that is structural from increasing parlay adoption versus maybe more outcome driven? And then I have a quick follow-up.

Well, I think definitely structural. And also, remember, the Africa business is much bigger now than it was 4 years ago. But I think it's everything. It's our pricing, it's how we've done it, it's how we price the market, what the product has to offer. So I think from that point of view, it was definitely for us a great World Cup. But remember, we should expect our sports margins to be between 13% to 14% combined. That's for international and Africa. And that's, I think, a good cadence for you guys. But the sports and the margin, we are really getting better at. And I think the team has done a great job there.

Got it. And then I appreciate your comments earlier on the casino cross-sell. Just curious how the 53% number of the World Cup cohort that has already placed the casino wager, how does that compare to the 2022 cohort? And what are your expectations in terms of engagement from that group, say, a year out from now?

Okay. So I think the cross-sell for 2022 was 23%. That's really, really, really we were all over this. This is one of our key areas. And remember, why it was important for us to do this cross-sell, the time zones were not right. So we were even more adamant to keep the customers in our ecosystem. So we're really happy with that. And I think the World Cup generally did really well, but I think we're even more excited now for the start of the new football season, the EPL, the La Liga, et cetera, and that will start towards the end of August.

Your last question comes from the line of Clark Lampen at BTIG.

Maybe one just to come back to sort of the margin point. Neal, you made some comments earlier that made it sound like this was sort of an important transition quarter from an operational standpoint. And I'm curious when we get into 2027 and you're annualizing some of these improvements and changes, how should we think about sort of medium-term margin trajectory? Are we posting towards a number that's sort of consistent with what we saw in Q2? Are there other sort of important puts and takes that we need to consider from a timing standpoint or maybe the new deal is a factor in 2027 that's sort of transitional. But would just be curious sort of directionally where we're going and what you think is possible.

Okay. So are we talking about sports margin, EBITDA margin, both -- you want both. Okay, I'll touch on both.

Well, sure, we can do both, I guess I'm a little more curious on the EBITDA margin side.

Okay. I'll leave it to Alinda. Go for it, Alinda.

Thanks for your question. We're obviously very excited about this quarter being at 30% EBITDA margin. It's the first time we called out a solid 30%, which is definitely in the right direction, as our operating leverage is our primary driver for this EBITDA expansion -- EBITDA margin expansion. Remember, it's quite simple. Our revenue grows faster than our cost base at this stage, which makes us very efficient. And we are realizing efficiencies across the board. It's not just in one specific place. It's around trading, marketing, processing and technology. And if you want to look at a model -- and how to model it maybe for the rest of the year, we still see in half year 2, obviously the World Cup effect and the cross-sell that will come in. We've included Alberta migration, which will be by the end -- will be completed by the end of September. And then we called out Namibia as our one launch country in 2026. But all in all, we continue to build branded partnerships so that we can work on the acquisition numbers.

Yes. And then 2027, I imagine is -- 2027 is, yes, we'll get closer to the 30%. Obviously, this quarter slightly less marketing quarter 2 as you would expect. But overall, is getting closer to what Alinda promised, the 30% EBITDA. So we did promise, we did deliver there. So now we got to...

We promised '27.

Yes, now we got to promise that, keep closer to that for 2027. But I think the ecosystem and the correct customers in our ecosystem is what this business is all about. It's about having the right customers, paying the right amounts for them, et cetera, and I think we're starting to see that now. And of course, and I'll end off with this, the cross-pollination of our international to Africa is really starting to show great signs, which we knew it would.

If I may actually just sort of squeeze in one additional one. I know at points in time in the past, you guys have sort of given either entry or exit rates from a customer account standpoint. If you have a July number handy, could you give us a feel for where the active base is sort of trending right now? And maybe alongside that, what have you seen, if anything -- if it's notable to call out from a results standpoint to start Q3? We've heard from some operators that the World Cup was a tailwind to performance. Did you experience something similar to start Q3?

I guess, so I think obviously there still was the World Cup in the beginning of the first 2 weeks of July. So yes, we saw good momentum in -- we're seeing good momentum in July. I also think where we are now -- we don't have the World Cup, and I'll give you an example like last night, is there were so many bets on these other leagues, the Champions League, Europa League, et cetera, these games that did really great volume because again, for a large portion of our customer base, it's all about these parlays, and that's what we need. And the World Cup never gave that, and it didn't give us the right time zone. So it was really an add-on in the middle of the year, but we're definitely seeing our customer base starting to get excited, and I really think towards the middle to the end of August, this is our big play from now till the end of the year.

And just to conclude there, because we had such a great start to the quarter, that's why we just came out and raised our guidance again.

Yes, and I think both for Alinda and I, and the whole team, the ecosystem is in a great place. From cost base, cost efficiencies, product, it's all coming together.

With no further questions, that concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Neal Menashe for closing remarks.

Thanks everyone for joining today's call. We are really, really proud of the team's execution, and we remain focused on delivering against our strategy and creating long-term shareholder value. We look forward to speaking to you all again soon. Thank you.

Thank you.

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.