Evoke Q1 revenue up 1% but bosses confident on mid-term growth targets

Evoke has reported Q1 revenue of £437m, representing 1% growth year on year (YoY), with bosses hopeful the remainder of 2025 will see growth in line with its mid-term target of 5% to 9%.

Revenue for the reporting period was aligned with the guidance the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green parent company published alongside its full-year 2024 report at the end of March.

At the time of that report’s release, bosses said low single-digit growth would be posted due to, in part, safer gambling measures put in place in Q4, operator-friendly results in 2024 and the fact last year was a leap year.

Despite the 1% growth (2% in constant currency) for the first three months of the year, management said they were confident in hitting the 5% to 9% target.

In fact, as of 22 April, evoke said year-to-date revenue growth was sitting at 4%, with the expectation that “revenues [will] return to stronger year-on-year growth from Q2 2025 onwards”.

Adjusted EBITDA “was significantly higher year on year”, evoke added, with last 12 months (LTM) adjusted EBITDA now more than £330m.

Looking at revenue geographically, the UK and Ireland (UK&I) online reported a 1% YoY dip in revenue to £162.5m, down from £164.4m, as sports betting revenue slumped 9%.

Revenue from the vertical was down from £62.5m to £57m, offsetting a 3% increase in igaming from £101.9m to £105.5m.

Evoke also pointed to a 21% YoY decline in monthly active players to one million, which the company attributed to “elevated promotional activity” in 2024, although there was a 26% rise in average revenue per user.

In the international division, revenue was up 11% (14% on a constant currency basis), driven by strong performance across the core markets of Italy, Spain, Romania and Denmark.

International revenue rose from £136.5m to £151.7m, as gaming spiked 14% YoY to £132m. Sports betting was down 3% to £19.7m, while actives shot up 21% to 681,000.

On the retail front, revenue was down 6% YoY to £123.1m, mainly due to a 9% slip in sports betting revenue.

In terms of strategic moves made in the quarter, evoke confirmed it had begun the migration of 888 Romania onto the local Winner.ro platform, as well as completing the move for Mr Green onto the 888 platform.

William Hill Italy also went onto the Exalogic platform to “support improved localisation and strengthen the competitive capabilities ahead of re-licensing during 2025”.

The company’s shares were flat at 48.3p at the time of writing.

Per Widerström, evoke CEO, said his team was moving “decisively and at pace to position evoke for long-term success and to drive significant value”.

The CEO added: “The Q1 performance is consistent with the update provided at our full-year results, with improvements in April supporting revenue growth in the year-to-date of approximately 4%.

“While Q1 revenue was below our 5% to 9% annual growth target, adjusted EBITDA is significantly higher year on year, with LTM adjusted EBITDA reaching more than £330m. This reflects the group’s significantly more efficient operating model and our clear focus on creating value through sustainable, profitable growth.

“We are building momentum in the right areas of the business with particularly strong growth across our international core markets. While the UK&I online and retail performance was behind where we wanted to be in Q1, we have moved swiftly to improve some of the underlying drivers of the performance and have been seeing stronger trends in April.

“With improved customer lifecycle management, a clear customer value proposition, new retail gaming cabinets and an exciting product pipeline, we remain highly confident in our market position and the growth profile of the business.”

The post Evoke Q1 revenue up 1% but bosses confident on mid-term growth targets first appeared on EGR Intel.

 Revenue for first three months of 2025 hits £437m, although green shoots in international and UK&I igaming represent positives
The post Evoke Q1 revenue up 1% but bosses confident on mid-term growth targets first appeared on EGR Intel.