William Hill owner set to exceed market expectations as turnaround 'working'
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William Hill's parent company, Evoke, has announced that its turnaround strategy is proving successful, with predictions that its online sector will push profits beyond market expectations for 2024. The London-listed bookmaker, which also owns 888 and Mr Green, reported a surge in revenues of up to 13% in the final quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year. Online platform growth was even more impressive, reaching up to 17%, driven by robust trading in its sports betting businesses.
Full-year earnings are now anticipated to hit the top end of its previous guidance of £300m to £310m, surpassing market expectations. Chief executive Per Widerstrom attributed the success to "operator-friendly sports results" towards the year's end, adding that the growing momentum "gives me real confidence that the turnaround is working and we are well positioned to continue our growth trend into 2025".
Evoke, rebranded from 888 in 2024, had been struggling until Mr Widerstrom took over in October 2023. The company, which owns gambling brands including 888poker, 888casino, 888sport, and the William Hill shops, spent much of 2024 refocusing on its core markets and prioritising products. This included selling its consumer-facing 888 gambling business in the US to gaming and betting company Hard Rock Digital.
Mr Widerstrom shared insight into the company's future plans, commenting: "2024 was a pivotal year as we started to implement our new strategy for success, radically transforming almost every area of the business, and moved decisively and at pace to position evoke for mid- and long-term profitable growth. We go into 2025 with improving momentum as we continue to execute against our value creation plan.".
