Evoke Plc has kept its core pledge to return to online growth following a transitional year for its business, which now targets a return to long-term profits.
Fuelled by strong product evolution, operational efficiencies and a strengthened focus on core markets, the LSE gambling group detailed a 6% growth in its online business and a 3% revenue spike to £1,754.5m.
This return to growth was enhanced during the second half of the year, H2 adjusted EBITDA contribution of £197m (+33% growth), boosted by finding £45m in recurring cost savings. Overall group EBITDA stood at £230 million, a dip of 9% on 2023’s £252 million.
Nonetheless, even amidst improvements for the firm’s overall performance, Evoke closed year trading on corporate losses of £191m, corresponding to elevated costs of its Value Creation Plan. At the centre of this was debt and refinancing costs, which totalled £168 million, with the firm’s US departure also playing a role.
Updating investors, Per Widerström, Chief Executive Officer at Evoke underlined that “the strategy is working, but they are fully aware that there is a lot more to do.”
Whilst the firm’s retail offering endured a challenging year, with a 5.4% decline in revenue to £506.1m, Widerström emphasised to investors that the group is undergoing a retail reset, which commenced recently.
This was boosted by the implementation of new gaming machines that picked up significant engagement during Cheltenham week and have thus far shown signs of being successful.
The firm underlined that it is consistently assessing how it can adapt player protection measures and that the incoming £5 slot limits will have a very minimal impact on the company’s performance.
Widerström added: “2024 was a pivotal year for Evoke as we launched and implemented our new strategy for success, radically transforming almost every area of the business and moving decisively to create a more sustainable, profitable, and cash-generative company.
“Whilst a transformation of this scale is never easy, I am pleased with the strong progress we made during the year as we built a winning team and delivered a consistently great customer experience. I am very proud of how our teams embraced the major changes implemented during 2024 and would like to thank all my colleagues for their continued skill and commitment.”
Widerström went on to emphasise that the group is updating the customer lifecycle process for both retail and online customers, as the group continues to elevate investments in AI and automation.
International operations were integral to the success of the firm as it outperformed expectations, with revenue rising 7.3% to £555.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA increasing by 30.8% to £130 million.
The group specifically picked out its key markets of Italy, Spain, and Denmark, with momentum set to continue in 2025 with the integration of Winner.ro, establishing Romania as a refreshed core market.
Widerström concluded: “We remain laser-focused on our core markets of the UK, Italy, Spain, Romania, and Denmark. These markets – where we have strong brands and market positions – now represent approximately 90% of our revenue, with each boasting attractive long-term growth potential, high barriers to entry, and established regulatory frameworks.”
In 2025, Evoke aims to achieve revenue growth of 5% to 9%, alongside a minimum Adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%. The group faces short-term headwinds in the UK, driven by the implementation of additional safer gambling measures — are expected to result in performance below initial guidance. Leadership remains confident, with plans to deliver a further £15–25 million in annual cost savings, more than offsetting the projected £10 million impact from changes to National Insurance and the National Living Wage.
“2025 is shaping up to be another exciting year for Evoke. While Q1 revenue growth is expected to be low single digit, we remain highly confident in our full-year expectations of 5–9% growth, in addition to driving further margin expansion through our more efficient operating model. Our exciting product pipeline, continued UK retail optimisation programme, and ever-improving capabilities around data and personalisation all reinforce my confidence in making further progress in 2025 as we continue to execute against our plans to create significant shareholder value.”
