Evoke shares jump 10% on the back of strong Q4 and full-year forecasts

Evoke’s shares leapt more than 10% in early morning trading after the company behind William Hill and 888 reported Q4 revenue is expected to rise between 12% and 13% year on year (YoY).

Should evoke’s Q4 revenue rise by 13%, it would mean the company generating around £479m against Q4 2023’s £424m.

On a constant currency (cc) basis, revenue is forecast to grow between 13% and 14%, evoke added.

Management said the growth was driven by the online arm, with revenue expected to increase between 16% and 17%, or between 18% and 19% on a cc basis.

The London-listed firm’s post-close trading update released this morning, 17 January, propelled the stock to 76p, at the time of writing,

Evoke, which also owns Mr Green, noted a “continued improvement in the growth rate across core markets” for the company.

Evoke’s core markets, which account for around 90% of group revenue, are the UK, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Romania. Romania, where 888 is licensed, was added to the collection after evoke snapped up a majority share in local operator Winner.ro last year.

Bosses said core market gains were “underpinned by the successful implementation of the group’s strategy and supported by operator-friendly sports results during Q4”.

Evoke now expects H2 revenue to be up 8% over H2 2023, towards the higher end of previously communicated guidance of a 5% to 9% increase.

The trading update also highlighted a “strong cost control and an increasingly efficient operating model”, which management expects will result in adjusted EBITDA being towards the top of previous guidance.

Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to come in at the top end of the £300m to £310m for full-year 2024, which it noted was “well ahead of market expectations”.

Analyst consensus, based on six estimates, had pegged evoke’s full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA at an average of £294m.

Per Widerström, evoke CEO, said 2024 had been a “pivotal” year as he looked ahead to executing the group’s value creation plan.

“I am pleased to report that the improving trends we announced in Q3 further strengthened into Q4 with the business delivering double-digit revenue growth,” the Swede said.

“As a result, revenue in the second half was at the high end of our 5% to 9% target growth range.

Widerström said that while evoke was “helped” by some some operator-friendly sports results in Q4, the “significantly improved underlying momentum” in the business gave him real confidence the turnaround is working and the business was “well positioned” for growth this year.

He added: “Alongside the stronger trading performance, we continue to progress with transforming the group’s capabilities for the mid- and long-term as we strengthen our competitive advantages, in particular better aligning our leading brands and products to a clearer customer value proposition.

“This turnaround is all supported by a clear market strategy, with our five core markets representing approximately 90% of our Q4 revenue. We are implementing a disciplined strategy with operational excellence to drive improved profitability and enable deleveraging.”

The post Evoke shares jump 10% on the back of strong Q4 and full-year forecasts first appeared on EGR Intel.

 Operator expects revenue to climb 13% year on year, with adjusted EBITDA for the past 12 months to be close to £310m, beating market expectations
The post Evoke shares jump 10% on the back of strong Q4 and full-year forecasts first appeared on EGR Intel.