Evolution's results soar in Q1 boosted by live casino

Evolution Gaming has published its interim financial report for the first quarter of 2024, reporting a continued success story, and seeing its overall operating revenues inch up by 16.7% to €501.5m.

The company’s EBITDA moved upwards by 15.2% and reached €345.8m, the company reported, adding that it was a corresponding margin of 69%. In the meantime, profit also remained strong for the company, with Evolution boasting €262.9m over the reported period, with earnings per share before dilution hitting €1.27.

Evolution also observed several important events during the period, including the sustained growth across all markets where the company is present, along with a continued increase in the company’s workforce along and capabilities by adding more tables to stream games from.

Commenting on what has been a good first quarter for the company, Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund outlined some of the most significant events, and the broader context that the company was operating in. Carlesund mentioned that the company has completed and closed a repurchase of 3,648,247 shares.

The workforce has now amounted to more than 20,000 people, and the live casino business’s gain of 19.8% year-over-year in revenue was a significant milestone to celebrate. Carlesund also argued that the company’s RNG business unit was also continuing to experience tailwinds and adjusting its operating model through the use of AI-driven functionalities and distribution channels to attain better results.

"We continue to incrementally improve our RNG business both in the pace of game releases and in tools surrounding the games. We are adding and injecting AI into our system infrastructure and also in our way of operating where we see that it can contribute to efficiency, analysis, or automation," the executive added.

Carlesund added that he expected the fast pace of game production from 2023 to carry over to 2024 and for the company to sustain the momentum and build upon it. The year has already seen several interesting launches as well, with games such as Stock market and Lightning Storm, the company noted. In the first quarter, 20 new RNG titles were also introduced across various markets.

All geographical regions were performing strongly, Carlesund said in his address, hailing growth in Asia, Europe, and North America, where the company has deepened its partnership with Caesars Digital and also signed up a fresh content partnership with Fanatics. Evolution similarly expanded with Rush Street Interactive in Delaware.

The executive touched on some of the company’s previous achievements as well, including the launch of a dedicated live casino studio in Bulgaria, Europe.

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