Evolution, a live dealer company that has been around for over ten years, reported revenues in the first quarter of more than EUR500.0m ($534.3m/PS429.9m/$534.3m), up 16.7% on an annual basis.
Evolution published its first quarter report Wednesday, 24 April. Operating revenues for the first quarter reached EUR501.5m. It was up by 5.5% from Q4 but still ahead of its EUR429.6m in the previous quarter.
EBITDA grew to EUR345.8m, with a margin 69.0%. Evolution’s EBITDA in Q1 increased by 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. EBITDA for Q1 was 2.6% higher than the total EUR337.0m of Q4 last year.
Total profit of Evolution for the first quarter was EUR269.2m and earnings per share EUR1.27. Profit and earnings per shares were both down on the previous quarter when they accumulated EUR282.9m of profit and EUR1.31 per share.
Martin Carlesund, the chief executive of Evolution, praised his company’s Q1 performance. The CEO also stated that Evolution was in a good position to maintain its growth.
Carlesund stated that Evolution is a profitable company with a strong growth rate, and it’s financed entirely by equity. In recent years, our strong financial position allowed us to focus on growth despite geopolitical uncertainties, pandemics and interest rate increases.
We will invest in and expand our operations globally and we’ll come to the office hungry, ambitious, and eager to achieve more.
Live casino driving Evolution growth
Evolution reported a 19.8% growth year-onyear in the live casino segment, with EUR25.7m more revenue compared to Q4.
Evolution has also stated that it still needs to do a great deal of work in order to capitalise fully on its position and to meet demand for their products.
The need for scale-up was one of the common themes in Evolution 2023. Carlesund stated previously that the company wanted to expand by opening new studios around the world. Evolution hopes to open at least four new studios in this year. This is in addition to the Bulgarian facility that was opened in Q4.
Evolution’s random number generator figures (RNG) have also increased. The RNG revenue for the first quarter was EUR70.1m. This is up from EUR69.8m in Q4. Carlesund said that Evolution hoped to increase its growth through the integration of artificial intelligence into its infrastructure and by increasing game releases.
Evolution released over 20 RNG titles during Q1 of this year and is planning to expand its offerings throughout the rest of the year.
Carlesund stated that “we have increased our capacity of tables to meet market demands and am happy to report that we are continuing the success from Q4 into this year.”
All in all, we’ve seen a marked improvement between the supply and demand balance today as compared with last year.
Global Performance
Evolution reports growth across the board, including “stable increases” in Europe as well as strong growth in Asia.
In the beginning of this year Evolution announced that it would be partnering with Fanatics North America and expanding their relationship with Caesars Digital. Caesars’ deal also includes the opening of a studio in New Jersey.
Evolution has reported strong growth in the LatAm market, despite the fact that the Brazilian regulatory framework is expected to be finalized later this year.
Evolution in the Future
Evolution stated that it would maintain its EBITDA guidance of 69%-71% for the full year.
Evolution’s main objective in 2024 will be to expand its capacity to meet demand. Its initial focus is on expanding margins, which “paves the way” to future revenue growth.
Evolution will open studios in Colombia and the Czech Republic in 2024 to help with this process.
Carlesund stressed the importance of growth during the investor call that followed the publication of Evolution’s Q1 Report.
Carlesund stated that “it’s our second consecutive quarter where we are ramping up, and we will keep doing this.” We’ll build enough tables in order to maximize the potential of the market by 2024.
