888 Outperforms Q1 Expectations With £431m Revenue

In the first quarter, 888 Holdings performed better than expected, earning a revenue of 431 million pounds.

The online betting company 888 made more money than they thought they would in the first quarter, earning £431 million. They had expected their earnings to be between £420 million and £430 million. This is a small increase of 2% compared to the last three months of the previous year, and it's because they did better business in some important areas.

Performance Breakdown

• UK and Ireland online revenue slipped by 1% from the previous quarter.
• Gaming revenue went up by 4%, compensating for a dip in sports betting income.
• International online revenue grew by 6% compared to Q4 of 2023.
• Retail business revenue declined by 7% due to fewer shops and a tough comparison basis.

In the UK and Ireland, though there was a small decrease from the previous three months, video gaming saw a 4% growth which helped make up for the decrease in sports betting seen during the Cheltenham Festival. It is expected that things will improve in the second quarter due to more customer participation, new gaming products, and ongoing commitment to responsible gambling.

888's online business experienced growth, especially in Italy, Spain, and Denmark, following the introduction of new regulations in February 2024.

888 focuses on selling products in stores and to customers worldwide.

888's retail stores have earned 7% less than before because the company has been closing some shops, with a 2% drop in the total number of stores compared to last year. However, the company's online international business is doing better, which could be good for its future online projects.

Looking Ahead to 2024

Per Widerström, the CEO, is confident the company will grow again starting in the second quarter. They plan to grow 5% to 9% each year and will spend more on advertising and launch new products to do this.

Rebranding to Evoke plc

888 is changing its name to Evoke plc to better represent its different brands, but this will only happen if the shareholders agree during the meeting on May 13.

Financial Highlights from 2023

In 2023, 888 didn't do as well as they hoped. Their revenue went up by 37.1% to £1.70 billion, and they lost less money than before, but their profit after tax fell by 25%. Also, they're selling some of their business in the US to Hard Rock Digital. They plan to complete the sale by the end of the year, as long as the government agrees. This sale is part of a new plan 888 talked about earlier to change their business strategy.

No Regulatory Action for 888

888 received good news when the Gambling Commission decided not to take any action against the company after reviewing its licence. The review was due to a takeover bid by Kenny Alexander’s FS Gaming that didn’t succeed. 888 stopped talks about the deal when they realized it might cause problems with keeping their UK licences, which made the regulators happy.

Job Cuts and Cost Management

The company said it will lay off some workers to make its operations more efficient and help achieve its main goals. They didn't say which parts of the company will lose jobs, but it shows they're being careful with money and trying to organize their work better.