evoke (LSE: EVOK), the parent company of igaming brands William Hill, 888, and Mr Green, has published its unaudited preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 2024. The group reported a 3% year-on-year increase in revenue to £1.75 billion, marking a return to growth for the first time in three years.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 4% to £312.5 million, slightly ahead of previous guidance. Notably, H2 performance drove this recovery, with adjusted EBITDA reaching £197 million—a 33% year-on-year and 71% half-on-half increase—delivering a margin of 22.1% in the second half of the year.
Online operations played a significant role in the group’s performance, with international online revenue increasing 10% on a constant currency basis and core markets showing strong double-digit growth. UK and Ireland online operations were up 5% for the year, with H2 growth of 10% supported by improved customer experience and sports betting margins.
Retail performance declined 5% year-on-year, reflecting challenging comparatives, though sequential improvement was recorded in H2. A rollout of new gaming cabinets across the UK retail estate was completed in March 2025.
Reported EBITDA declined to £230.6 million, primarily due to exceptional items totalling £79.3 million linked to the exit of the group’s US B2C business and ongoing transformation costs. The group posted a reported loss after tax of £191.4 million, impacted by these non-recurring charges, finance expenses, and a tax charge.
During the period, evoke advanced its transformation strategy launched in March 2024, delivering operational efficiencies, enhancing its technology stack, and restructuring leadership teams. Over £45 million in recurring cost savings were delivered during the year, with further savings of up to £25 million identified for 2025.
The group also strengthened its core market presence through the acquisition of Winner.ro in Romania and progressed with the strategic repositioning of key brands. Mr Green recorded 24% growth in Denmark following its migration to the 888 platform, while William Hill launched a new visual identity and proposition ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.
Looking ahead, the company expects low single-digit revenue growth in Q1 2025, with several one-off factors—including safer gambling changes, a strong Q4 2024 comparator, and leap year impact—contributing to a slower start. However, adjusted EBITDA is forecast to grow by £18–28 million in Q1 compared to the previous year.
The Board reiterated its FY2025 guidance of 5–9% revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 20%. Deleveraging remains a key focus, with net leverage reduced from 6.7x to 5.7x during H2 and a medium-term target of under 3.5x set for 2027.
The group continues to prioritise sustainable profitability, operational excellence, and market leadership across its core regulated jurisdictions.
Per Widerström, CEO of evoke, commented: “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.
“I was delighted to see the results of our transformation start to materialise during the year, with the business returning to revenue growth in Q3 for the first time in almost three years, in turn delivering a step change in profitability as a result of our increasingly efficient operating model. 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.
“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.
“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 as a result of 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.”
