If this is progress then what’s Evolution? One may well ask, as the Swedish-origin iGaming software and games developer, mired in controversy seemingly pretty much everywhere, delivers a flat to minus Q3.
Currently embroiled in a vicious court case in the United States with arch rivals Playtech, alleging defamation and under-hand tactics by Israeli intelligence firm, Black Cube; facing sustained cyber attack on its Far East operations and still settling from an inflamed industrial dispute in its Caucasus Georgia studio, Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund insists: “We make sure to become a little bit better every day.”
But the fiscal facts–and the facts on the ground, as the company fights fires on multiple fronts, belie such optimism.
Net revenues fell 2.4 percent to €519.4 million (£451.33m/US$602.01m) in the Third Quarter, ending September 30, year-over-year.
Adjusted EBITDA fell even further, by 5.3 percent, €336.9 million (£292.75m/US$390.5m), representing a margin of 66.4 percent, and profit for the period slumped to €252.3 million (£219.23m/US$292.44m) from €328.6 million (£285.53m/US$380.86m) a year earlier.
Earnings-per-share in the quarter fell from €1.57 to €1.25, year-on-year.
Cyber Criminality
Meantime, profit for the first nine months of this year totalled €755.3 million (£656.3m/US$875.33m), compared to €866.9 million (£753.21m/US$1bn) in the same period in 2024.
Carlesund drew strong distinctions between Evolution’s performance in Europe and The Americas, “decent to good”, and Asia.
“Unfortunately, revenue development in Asia is still very far from satisfactory,” he asserted.
“We continue to fight the cyber criminality that has affected our business there for too long, and during the quarter we didn’t progress as much as we would have wanted.
“The fight is a constant balancing act between taking countermeasures that are too stringent–which create issues for legitimate end-users–and too light, which don’t yield the desired effects.
“During the third quarter, we over-extended our counter-measures and our revenue was [negatively] affected.”
Volatile
Carlesund also conceded that both The Philippines and India markets, while promising much, remained volatile.
“Despite [this], our newly opened studio in the Philippines has been off to a great start, showcasing our commitment to the region,” said Carlesund.
And commenting on Latin America, he continued:
“Following a slower than expected start to the year, growth in Latin America is once again picking up as operators and players are getting accustomed to the new regulation in Brazil.
“As highlighted already in the Q2 report, we opened our first Live Casino studio in São Paulo in July, and we are already looking to expand it.
Challenges
“We have continued to deliver on the full-year roadmap of more than 110 new releases. On the RNG side, a total of 22 new titles. Reception has been excellent across our markets.”
“At Evolution, we will always go to all lengths to protect our company, our brand, our colleagues and our shareholders.
“Whether it is our efforts to fight cyber criminals in Asia, the resolution of the Georgian strike, or the action we are taking against Playtech and their associates who sought to harm Evolution, we will deploy whatever time, effort and money necessary to defend our firm and its exciting future.”
He’s certainly going to need these weapons–and more–to beat off the ongoing challenges facing the company.
