evoke: streamlined William Hill estate moves closer to profitability

(AsiaGameHub) –   Full-year financial results from William Hill’s parent company evoke paint a mixed performance picture for the firm that is currently seeking a buyer.

Some industry observers find the timing of evoke’s FY25 results release somewhat unusual. While the LSE-listed gambling firm is publishing its 2025 full-year financial statements now, most of its peer companies are already releasing their Q1 2026 performance figures.

This delay in publishing results is likely linked to ongoing discussions the company has been holding with Bally’s Intralot over a potential acquisition. Both parties confirmed these talks earlier this month, with Bally’s evaluating a bid of 50p per evoke share, putting the company’s total valuation at $225m.

So what do the FY25 results reveal about the company’s standing? First, the positive metrics: revenue climbed 2% year-over-year to £1.78bn, up from £1.75bn in the prior period, while profitability also saw meaningful progress as EBITDA jumped 43% from £211.4m to £301.3m.

Per Widerström, evoke’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Across 2025, we delivered steady operational improvements that created a more efficient, focused and disciplined business, delivering higher marketing returns, tighter cost control, improved operating leverage, and a transformative shift in underlying profitability.”

Turning now to the negative points. Despite the EBITDA-related profitability gains, evoke still operates at a loss. After-tax losses surged a substantial 149% from £220.9m to £549.1m, while the group’s net debt for the year reached a staggering £1.9bn.

This debt load will be a key consideration for Bally’s Intralot. Bally’s Intralot also carries a high level of debt, incurred when Intralot took out loans to fund its acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive, the transaction that led to the company’s formation last year.

If Bally’s Intralot’s offer is accepted by the 18 May deadline, developing a plan to eliminate this debt, or at minimum incorporate it into long-term strategic planning, will be a top priority. 

However, as Widerström and Sean Wilkins, evoke’s Chief Financial Officer, emphasized to analysts during the company’s earnings call earlier today, the group has put extensive work into cutting operational costs…

evoke’s UK&I performance remains resilient … for now

Evoke reports its revenue across two core segments: UK&I, and International. The UK&I segment is further split into two subsegments: retail, which covers William Hill‘s high street betting operations; and online, which includes William Hill Online, the 888 portfolio of betting, gaming and bingo brands, and the Mr Green casino.

Total UK&I revenue fell 2% last year, dropping from £1.2bn to £1.17bn. Declines were recorded across both retail and online divisions, though the online drop was actually steeper than the retail decrease – a trend that stands out against Gambling Commission data showing online gross gaming yield (GGY) has risen consistently quarter-on-quarter, while retail GGY falls steadily.

In response to falling retail performance, evoke carried out a comprehensive review of its William Hill brick-and-mortar portfolio during Q1. This process led the company to decide to close 270 underperforming William Hill shops, a move confirmed in today’s announcement.

“We are well aware of the broader macro trend of digital outperforming retail,” said Widerström, in response to a question from SBC News during this morning’s call.

“The entire sector is facing cost pressures, but as we laid out in our report, we completed a very thorough review of our retail estate, and identified 230 shops that we will be closing.

“We have over 1,000 excellent remaining locations that deliver great service and entertainment to our customers, and with this more streamlined retail portfolio, we have meaningfully boosted long-term sustainability, cash flow and profitability.”

Wilkins offered additional context for the results, attributing the overall 2% UK&I revenue drop to ‘operator-friendly sports results’ during the fourth quarter. He also revealed that 888 brand revenue in the UK and Ireland fell 8% specifically.

Still, the CFO emphasized that ‘gaming performance remained steady’, driven largely by ‘strong results from William Hill’. He added that the firm is ‘focused on securing appropriate ROI before scaling up any further investment’ in the UK market.

Unquestionably, the group’s UK&I outlook will be shaped by the new tax regime that came into effect on 1 April 2026. While he acknowledged it is still too early to assess the full impact of the new taxes, Wilkins offered an optimistic forecast.

“We initially projected the tax impact would be between £125-£130m, and I now expect that figure will be slightly lower, as we have revised our UK revenue expectations downwards,” he said, responding to a question from analysts.

“We are already rolling out the 50% mitigation measures we previously announced. We also expect market consolidation to occur, which will allow us to grow our market share. In the first 30 days of the new regime, we have actually seen no negative impact at all. The company is pleased with how the UK&I online segment is performing.”

International division – a mixed picture for evoke’s ‘growth engine’

Per Wilkins, the international segment was evoke’s ‘growth engine’ throughout 2025. However, he added that the division’s performance still fell short of the company’s expectations.

International revenue rose 9.3% from £555.2m to £606.9m. EBITDA also climbed 49.2% from £130m to £175.4m. Growth in Italy, Denmark and Romania was cited as the main driver behind these gains.

According to Wilkins, the firm is continuing to grow its market share in Romania, following its acquisition of Winner.ro in August 2024. However, company leadership also noted ongoing challenges in the Romanian market.

“Romania has seen sharp growth in black market activity following a recent tax hike, and as regulated operators, this is negatively impacting our business,” said Wilkins, echoing a common industry concern raised across the UK, Netherlands, Germany and other markets.

“We have had to scale back marketing and promotional activity to protect profitability, while unregulated black market operators do not face the same constraints, which puts pressure on our revenue.”

He also cited the impact of Romania’s recession as a drag on business performance in the country. Outside of Romania, leadership expressed disappointment with results in Spain, where performance was described as ‘flat’.

Looking ahead, evoke clearly has significant potential across its brand portfolio, and given the strength of these brands, it is no surprise the group has attracted acquisition interest ever since it launched a strategic review in December 2025.

However, ongoing operating losses and a heavy debt burden could hold the company back, and leadership appears fully aware of these risks.

“Our core focus for 2026 is heavily centered on cash generation and strengthening our balance sheet,” said Wilkins.

Following the release of its FY25 results, evoke’s share price has stayed largely stable, edging down slightly by 0.90% to hold at roughly 40p per share.