(Reuters) -British bookmaker Evoke maintained its full-year forecasts on Wednesday after swinging to an adjusted pre-tax profit in the first half, helped by cost cuts and strength in its international business.
The betting and gaming company has doubled down on expansion plans and cost controls as part of its turnaround initiatives, which helped drive momentum in the second quarter, including a return to growth for its UK retail business.
The William Hill UK and 888 owner reiterated its full-year revenue growth estimates of 5%-9% and an adjusted core earnings margin of at least 20%, saying third-quarter revenue so far was in line with its plans.
“The acceleration in Q2 performance, together with a strong pipeline of product enhancements and operational efficiency initiatives, underpins our confidence of improved growth in H2,” CEO Per Widerstrom said in a statement.
The company posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of 12.6 million pounds ($17.02 million) for the six months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 9.8 million pounds last year, as revenue rose 3% to 887.8 million pounds.
Shares gained 3.7% to 64.6 pence post results.
Meanwhile, bookmakers are bracing for possible tax hikes in the UK’s autumn budget. The market accounted for two-thirds of Evoke’s revenues in 2024.
($1 = 0.7404 pounds)
(Reporting by Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
