The London-listed online betting and gaming company Evoke Plc reported a loss of £143 million in the first half of the year, a 300% increase from a £32 million loss in 2023. The operator (formerly known as 888 Holdings) saw a downturn in performance in the first half of the year, particularly in its William Hill retail operations in the UK.
Group revenue was in line with expectations at £862 million, with online revenue growing 1% year-on-year to £338 million. However, despite the upcoming 2024 European Championship, William Hill's retail revenue still fell by 7% to £258 million, and online sports betting revenue decreased by 5.3%. All core sectors saw double-digit declines in adjusted EBITDA, with the UK brand experiencing "lower than expected returns" from marketing and promotional activities in the first quarter.
Despite growth in core markets such as Spain, Italy, and Denmark, Evoke's international division's revenue remained flat at £265 million. This was due to reduced market revenue from changing business models and exiting the US joint venture.
The company stated that William Hill's betting products were particularly "behind competitors." The company has sought internal solutions to provide betting kiosks and software to drive differentiation, but initial tests showed that despite a richer variety of games and unique promotional tools, customer response to different product offerings was poor. Therefore, the company is taking action based on data to re-plan.
Group CEO Per Widerström said: "Our marketing returns (mainly UK online marketing) were below expectations, leading to an online marketing ratio of 25%, higher than planned. We have formed a new experienced commercial leadership team and marketing leadership team, and we are changing the way we plan and conduct marketing."
Widerström stated that the group is currently focused on "short-term actions" to maximize operating profit margins and restore growth in the second half of the year. Evoke maintains its revenue growth guidance of 5% to 9%, with an adjusted EBITDA profit margin of about 21%, and a full-year target cost efficiency of £30 million.
Widerström said: "We are thoroughly transforming this business. Although the scale of change is huge, we must achieve medium to long-term profit growth and value creation. We have taken bold, decisive actions to reverse short-term trading performance and invest in the group's ability to drive stepwise value creation and build a bigger, more profitable, more sustainable, and more cash-generative business in the future.
"We have a clear plan, vision, and financial goals. Due to our strategic progress and business improvement, I am more confident in achieving our value creation plan and driving sustainable profit growth in the coming years."
