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EVOK Evoke Plc

60.95
-1.25 (-2.01%)
20 Dec 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Evoke Plc LSE:EVOK London Ordinary Share GI000A0F6407 ORD 0.5P (DI)
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -1.25 -2.01% 60.95 2,291,542 16:35:22
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
60.85 61.45 63.40 60.40 62.90
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Amusement & Rec Svcs, Nec USD 1.71B USD -56.4M USD -0.1255 -4.89 279.55M
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
16:41:58 O 4 61.60 GBX

Evoke (EVOK) Latest News

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Date Time Title Posts
20/12/202419:40EVOK........Old 888 Group1,178

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Evoke (EVOK) Most Recent Trades

Trade Time Trade Price Trade Size Trade Value Trade Type
2024-12-20 17:21:0861.6042.46O
2024-12-20 17:21:0861.6021.23O
2024-12-20 17:21:0861.6021.23O
2024-12-20 17:21:0861.6021.23O
2024-12-20 17:21:0861.6021.23O

Evoke (EVOK) Top Chat Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 21/12/2024 08:20 by Evoke Daily Update
Evoke Plc is listed in the Amusement & Rec Svcs, Nec sector of the London Stock Exchange with ticker EVOK. The last closing price for Evoke was 62.20p.
Evoke currently has 449,440,402 shares in issue. The market capitalisation of Evoke is £275,956,407.
Evoke has a price to earnings ratio (PE ratio) of -4.89.
This morning EVOK shares opened at 62.90p
Posted at 03/12/2024 17:56 by mirabeau
Many thanks to Edmond Jackson for his efforts :-

----------

Stockwatch: time to buy this ex-FTSE 100 fallen star?

It’s possible the stars are aligning for this company and, while they’ll probably remain off-limits to conservative investors, analyst Edmond Jackson believes the odds are shifting in their favour.

3rd December 2024 12:47

by Edmond Jackson from interactive investor

The small-cap shares in betting group Evoke EVOK 2.69% look as if they’re possibly forming a support level around the 50-60p area and continuing to rise to 65p this morning. Might this mark a “double bottom” chart reversal since mid-October?

Its five-year chart shows a roller coaster over the Covid lockdown period when online gambling went through a boom and slump; then in 2023 a rally from 55p to 125p failed to hold, and this year the stock halved from 100p:

Evoke performance chart

There is a greater fall from grace in the sense of how William Hill – nowadays just one company in this group – has twice been in and out the FTSE 100, back in 2005 and 2013.

“Evoke” is barely six months old: a re-branding of what used to be 888 Holdings, which listed in 2005 having developed online gambling brands such as 888casino, 888 poker and 888sport.

Over 2011 to 2018, its shares ten-bagged from 30p to 300p, but fell to 135p before Covid. Then in mid-2022 came the transformational (in a questionable sense) takeover of William Hill for £2.2 billion, which introduced the “Mr Green” brand that Hill acquired for £242 million in early 2019.


So, there are impressive-sounding assets – historically at least – if hard for non-gamblers to judge how competitive they stand in this industry. There is Denise Coates, majority shareholder and CEO of Bet365, who is the highest-paid business person in the UK; and enough ads on commercial radio featuring Harry Redknapp for Bet Victor to drive you potty.

Was William Hill a classic ‘stretch too far’?

A chief reason this is share trading near all-time lows is the William Hill takeover saddling the group with colossal debt. It marked a prime example of how the era of ultra-low interest rates (and in the wake of Covid) led to some companies losing sense as to appropriate gearing.

As of last 30 June, Evoke’s balance sheet had £1,655 million of longer-term debt, plus a more modest £29 million of near-term debt, tempered only by £244 million cash. It is chiefly why the net assets position has deteriorated – to £56 million negative and before £1,983 million goodwill/intangibles.

Moreover, the ratio of current assets to current liabilities was shy of 0.6 – further worsening a high financial-risk profile.

Evoke - financial summary
Year-end 31 Dec
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Turnover (£ million) 406 439 663 712 1,239 1,711
Operating margin (%) 18.4 9.3 3.9 8.9 -1.0 -3.5
Operating profit (£m) 74.8 40.9 25.6 63.2 -11.8 33.0
Net profit (£m) 71.1 32.6 8.8 49.9 -120 -56.4
EPS - reported (p) 19.4 8.8 2.3 13.2 -28.3 -12.6
EPS - normalised (p) 17.6 10.0 18.5 17.1 0.1 7.5
Operating cashflow/share (p) 8.6 17.3 42.5 25.6 -7.1 33.8
Capital expenditure/share (p) 4.5 4.8 6.8 6.1 18.0 15.7
Free cashflow/share (p) 4.1 12.5 35.7 19.5 -25.1 18.1
Dividends per share (p) 9.2 4.7 14.0 3.3 0.0 0.0
Covered by earnings (x) 2.1 1.9 0.2 4.0 0.0 0.0
Return on total capital (%) 59.5 27.5 18.6 42.6 -0.5 1.6
Cash (£m) 103 73.1 139 189 318 256
Net debt (£m) -103 -33.5 -114 -166 1,474 1,493
Net assets (£m) 126 124 110 124 159 79.9
Net assets per share (p) 34.5 33.7 29.8 33.4 35.7 17.8

Source: company accounts.

At least there appears to be breathing space. Notes in the accounts under “net debt” cite only £11 million of debt maturing in 2026 “with most of the debt maturing across 2027 to 2030. In addition to this, the group has access to a £200 million revolving credit facility, with £150 million available until 2028, additionally £50 million to December 2025.”

Bulls can therefore speculate on scope to avoid or substantially mitigate any financial restructuring, if trading proceeds better like management entertains. More skeptically, it’ll be interesting to see how this share will struggle to remove its debt albatross.


The net debt to adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) ratio had risen from 5.6x to 6.4x this year. An 18 October third-quarter update cited a leverage target below 3.5x by end-2026. No dividends will be resumed until that drops below 3x.
A weak first-half year albeit second-half turnaround?

Interim results, which included a £143 million net loss, initially looked disastrous, however £71 million of operating expenses were classed as exceptional and £111 million involved depreciation/amortisation.

This was on like-for-like revenue 2% easier at £862 million. Management blamed UK retail down 8% but, given it represents near 70% of the group, you could say it shows gambling as not necessarily “addictive”, hence providing reliable revenues, and/or that Evoke’s marketing is less than fully competitive.

While management likes to focus on adjusted EBITDA, an £80 million net interest charge over six months alone compromises shareholder value.

Yet the company proclaimed: “significant profitability expected in the second half, driven by the full period benefit of a £30 million cost-saving programme, more effective marketing focused on core customers, and enhanced product.”

The 18 October Q3 update cited total revenue up only 3% like-for-like. However, there’s “no change to the expectation for the second half to be in line with the mid-term target of 5-9% year-on-year growth”.


There was no specific mention of profit, although that’s a tad tricky perhaps in a near-term accounting sense.

It would also have been good to see management back their words with share purchases, but there is yet to be any trading this year while the price has fallen. The CEO does own over two million, however.

Yet Artemis Investment Management nearly doubled its stake to 10.4% in the wake of this update and last month raised it further to near 11.7%. This obviously could be averaging down yet they still consider Evoke warrants further commitment. It at least implies the situation is not going from bad to worse.
Three hedge funds look to be closing short positions

Such trading logic has applied also on the short side lately.

Until earlier this year, Marshall Wace – an experienced manager at short-selling whose targets I keep aware of – had a short position equivalent to 1.1% of Evoke’s issued share capital. This has recently reduced to 0.49%, now below the disclosure threshold.

Millennium International Management did raise its short, also to 1.1% as of 22 November, but three days later had cut this to 0.23%.

Qube Research & Technologies has also been reducing, from 0.8% mid-October to 0.65% as of 25 November.

Possibly their actions may have contributed to this share moving up, which obviously is not the same as it affirming improvement in the business.

Improving sentiment is, however, affirmed by Deutsche Bank upgrading its stance just recently from “hold” to “buy”, albeit with a reduced target of 74p from 90p.


It can be an intelligent time to buy an unfavoured share when short sellers are starting to close. Buying back can squeeze the market price higher, especially if recovery buyers are waiting for the chart to put in a low.

If consensus – or guidance to those representing it – is fair, near £12 million net profit is expected for this year, equating to normalised earnings per share of 2.6p, rising to over £56 million in 2025, for earnings per share (EPS) over 14p. In this hopeful scenario the price/earnings multiple would be below five times.

Avoided Labour’s tax grab

Another reason for the share’s current support is the Budget – quite surprisingly – not raising taxation or taking any kind of tougher measures on gambling, despite protests about its effects on mental health and families. Moreover, the chancellor has also said future Budgets will not be as tough.

Much will obviously depend on how the UK fiscal position evolves. Cynics may note the industry’s contributions to Labour Party coffers.

Cutting to the chase: there obviously remains much uncertainty around Evoke and whether its commercial offerings can gain better traction and debt can be managed, so as to leave meaningful shareholder value. Its shares remain highly speculative, off-limits to conservative investors.

Yet for experienced traders who can stomach risk, evidence certainly suggests sentiment at least is turning. It departs from my preference for proven intrinsic value, but I currently feel the odds starting to favour “buy”.

Edmond Jackson is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of interactive investor.
Posted at 27/11/2024 19:50 by pj84
Deutsche Bank bets on Evoke with a ‘buy’



Deutsche Bank has upgraded Evoke (EVOK), formerly 888, after the business returned to growth and the gambling sector avoided any extra taxes in the Budget.

Analyst Richard Stuber lifted his rating of the William Hill owner from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ but reduced the target price from 90p to 74p. The shares gained 2.2%, or 1.1p, to 54.5p on Tuesday but have fallen 40% this year.

The group returned to revenue growth in the third quarter, its first quarter of growth since early 2022.

‘This was also the second-consecutive quarter of growth for its UK online division, which is arguably its most important division given the lower structural growth of retail and the diversity of geographies comprising international,’ he said.

The second factor that had stopped Stuber from upgrading the stock had been the overhang from the Budget.

‘Fortunately for the sector, and Evoke in particular, the UK Budget did not include increases to gambling taxes,’ he said.

‘The consultation next year to bring remote gambling into a single tax merely reiterated the previous government’s commitment.’
Posted at 26/11/2024 19:49 by kelso29
The Deutsche bank upgrade from "Hold" to "Buy" is a bit unusual in that the target price has been dropped from 90p to 74p.

Two shorts decreased yesterday by a combined 1.13%.

Today's closing share price is basically yesterday's closing share price before the shocking UT, so even though Evoke is in today's Top Riser leaderboard, the rise was in affect yesterday's.
Posted at 21/11/2024 21:30 by blackhorse23
EVOK debt actually assest , they have bought William hill for 2 billion & they already have paid off 25% of debt in 2 years comfortably , WH has own valuation over 2 billions pounds... EVOK valuation is 220m now .... 2 billion pounds worth WH is free , lol .... EVOKE only ONLINE BUSINESS valued 450p per share during COVID before WH buying, market will recognise all of this
Posted at 18/11/2024 13:45 by blackhorse23
Compare to other gaming stocks like ENT , FLTR .. EVOK share price is massively undervalued ..
Posted at 24/10/2024 19:34 by wad collector
Blackhorse I am a bit confused about your postings here, last week you were ramping it


Blackhorse23 - 15 Oct 2024 - 16:26:42 - 588 of 712 EVOK........Old 888 Group - EVOK
I think it’s massively undervalued stock , during covid share price was 490p while revenue 600m but now revenues 1.7 billion share price 55p , doesn’t make any sense. Likely reverse to 490p soon
Posted at 16/8/2024 13:00 by bedford1976
The share price is going to appreciate now Per's plan is baked in. William Hill is an exceptional brand will surprised if a bid doesn't come through while the share price is low.
Posted at 07/8/2024 12:02 by bedford1976
The business plan for Evoke is to deleverage from x5.4 EBITDA by the end of 2026 to less than x3.5.
Assuming no offers materialise Evoke will plod along deleveraging for around 30 months. Not a bad investment really by 2026 share price will be much higher and the business should be churning out dividends.
In context one of my big holdings Young & Company Brewery have debt hovering at x3.5 EBITDA.
Theoretically Evoke should be a sound and profitable medium term investment.
Posted at 18/7/2024 07:12 by window kleaner
Not looking good-

link in a header, but for future ref.


EVOKE-


H1 2024 Trading Update

Online revenue returned to growth in Q2 but behind plan leading to revised FY24 expectations.

Significant strategic and operational progress supports future profitable growth in H2 and beyond with no change to existing FY25 expectations, medium-term targets or value creation plan

evoke (LSE: EVOK), one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies with internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, today announces a trading update for the three- and six-months ending 30 June 2024 ("Q2-24" and "H1-24" respectively).

Financial highlights (unaudited)1:

· Q2-24 revenue of approximately £431m, broadly stable both sequentially and versus the prior year:

· UK Online: continued improvement in trends with revenue up +3%, including +6% growth in gaming driven by continued improvements in product and promotions. Sports held back by continued knock-on impacts from marketing and proposition changes in 2023, as well as lower than expected returns from Q1 marketing and promotional activity. This has been addressed with changes in leadership and commercial strategy, with our new price and promotions approach seeing good early traction and strong results from the launch of new betbuilder product

· International: revenue up +2% (+4% in constant currency) with double-digit growth in the core markets of Italy, Spain and Denmark, which now represent approximately 60% of the division. This was offset by reduced revenues from optimise markets as the focus switches to profitability and cash generation, including exiting the US B2C business

· UK Retail: revenue stable in H1 2024 compared to H2 2023, but 8% lower than 2023, with a strong comparative period. Plans in place to address performance with a change in leadership, along with new future proof gaming machines rolling out from Q4 2024 and completing in Q1 2025, together with an improved SSBT product, payments experience, and sports broadcast offering

· Adjusted EBITDA Margin for the first half is expected to be approximately 13-14%, primarily driven by phasing of costs with marketing costs heavily weighted to the first half, together with lower than expected revenue and the timing of cost saving actions taken

· Successful refinancing in May 2024 to repay the Euro TLA and replace with GBP fixed rate notes, improving the debt profile by extending the maturity of £400m by two years out to 2030; improving the fixed/floating mix; and more closely aligning the debt currency mix to underlying cash generation

· Cash at 30 June 2024 of approximately £116m, with ample total liquidity of nearly £300m including RCF

Strategic progress:

· New strategy and value creation plan launched in March 2024, with name change to evoke plc effective from May 2024

· Strategy focused on mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation by investing in the Group's capabilities and transforming the business, centred around a clear customer value proposition and distinct competitive advantages

· Significant progress in H1-24 to build enhanced capabilities and drive competitive advantage:

· Operational excellence driven by data insights and intelligent automation: fundamentally re-organised the Group's operating model to streamline decision making and increase effectiveness, which will deliver the full previously announced £30m of targeted cost efficiencies in FY24. Enhanced data-driven approach to customer segmentation and personalised promotions, alongside bringing in new personnel from leading AI powered businesses

· A winning culture: completed the restructure of the executive leadership team, with 9 out of 11 roles new since Oct-23, bringing in exceptional talent from within and outside the industry. Further changes to wider leadership team as the new c-suite builds out high-performing teams to drive a step-change in execution capabilities

· Leading distinct brands and products: completed the repositioning of the Mr Green brand, and well advanced with refining the William Hill customer value proposition. Product pipeline reviewed and adapted to focus on value creation, with new betbuilder product launched in time for Euros and proving successful, with further product improvements set to land in the second half of the year and beyond

Outlook:

· H1-24 Adjusted EBITDA approximately £35-40m behind plan, which will flow through to FY24 expectations

· Positive outlook for revenue with H2 2024 revenue growth expected to be in line with medium-term guidance of 5-9%2

· Cost optimisation programme executed delivering planned £30m in-year savings, weighted to the second half, with c.£5-10m incremental benefit in H2 compared to H1

· Marketing phasing always planned to be H1 weighted, with marketing costs expected to be approximately £35-40m lower in H2 compared to H1

· The above factors, together with the operating leverage on expected revenue growth, mean profitability in H2 2024 is expected to increase significantly, with H2 2024 Adjusted EBITDA Margin expected to be approximately 21%

· No change to existing FY25 expectations, including Adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 20%, with unchanged medium-term targets of 5-9% revenue growth per year, c.100bps of Adjusted EBITDA Margin expansion per year, and leverage of below 3.5x by the end of 2026

Per Widerström, CEO of evoke, commented:

"We are focused on mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation and during the first half we have made bold, decisive changes to improve almost every area of the business. We are undertaking a complete reset and transformation of the business, and the scale of change is significant, but necessary. This transformation will take time but will enhance operational efficiency, leading to a bigger, more profitable and more cash generative business in the future.

Our strategy defines what good looks like and how we get there, and while no journey is ever straightforward, we have learnt a lot already so far this year as we pursue our goals. Whilst it is disappointing that the first half financials are behind our plan, the underlying health of the business is getting stronger, and the corrective actions we have already taken make us even more confident that our strategic approach is sound and will achieve sustainable success.

I am really pleased with the strategic progress we have made so far and I'm confident this will set us up for profitable growth in H2 2024 and beyond as we continue to invest for the mid and long-term with high conviction. Our plans for 2025 and beyond are unchanged and the strategic and operational progress we have made during the first half give me increased confidence about delivering our value creation plan."



Sell side analyst and investor presentation

Per Widerström (Chief Executive Officer), Sean Wilkins (Chief Financial Officer), and Vaughan Lewis (Chief Strategy Officer) will host a presentation for sell-side analysts and investors today at 09.00am (BST).

Live audio webcast link: hxxps://brrmedia.news/EVOK_HY_24

To register to participate in Q&A please contact evoke@hudsonsandler.com or call +44 (0)207 796 4133 for further details.

A replay will be available on our website shortly after: hxxps://www.evokeplc.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/

Notes

1 Based on draft unaudited financial results

2 Assumes normalised win margins for the remainder of the year
Posted at 01/7/2024 16:25 by hope1815
The debt has been covered by Fitch in March and May 2024 reaffirming the rating from 2023 BB- to a BB+ WITHIN 1 year. If you read the report the outlook for Evoke Plc for 2024 moving forward the debt becomes less and less.

Revenue outlook continues to increase from 2024 Q4 onwards. A joint Broker was assigned last month which provides wide scope for Liquidity. It can also suggest a Fund Raise which some people mentioned. That may be indicated in the share price but that is speculative at best.

Evoke Plc continues to withdraw from USA operations with 888 Casino and 888 Poker but is expanding 8 Poker with new Tech for better Gaming Experience.

The CEO has changed the Team within Evoke Plc, all the new appointments are successful and have proven track records.

The vested Options for CEO and CFO have a range of £1.60 in 2025 to £2.30 in 2026 Q1. If these targets are met within the next 18 months it is a return of 100% to 182% roughly.

Also, there is a possibility of a bid which was mentioned in May 2024 for Private Equity firms watching Evoke Plc.

The Evoke Plc group has put forward Sponsorship deals Scottish Football is one, also updating William Hill inventory with new gaming machines, etc.

Happy Investing
Evoke share price data is direct from the London Stock Exchange

Evoke Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the current Evoke share price?
The current share price of Evoke is 60.95p
How many Evoke shares are in issue?
Evoke has 449,440,402 shares in issue
What is the market cap of Evoke?
The market capitalisation of Evoke is GBP 279.55M
What is the 1 year trading range for Evoke share price?
Evoke has traded in the range of 49.20p to 100.60p during the past year
What is the PE ratio of Evoke?
The price to earnings ratio of Evoke is -4.89
What is the cash to sales ratio of Evoke?
The cash to sales ratio of Evoke is 0.16
What is the reporting currency for Evoke?
Evoke reports financial results in USD
What is the latest annual turnover for Evoke?
The latest annual turnover of Evoke is USD 1.71B
What is the latest annual profit for Evoke?
The latest annual profit of Evoke is USD -56.4M
What is the registered address of Evoke?
The registered address for Evoke is SUITE 601/701 EUROPORT, EUROPORT ROAD, GIBRALTAR, GIBRALTAR
What is the Evoke website address?
The website address for Evoke is www.evokeplc.com
Which industry sector does Evoke operate in?
Evoke operates in the AMUSEMENT & REC SVCS, NEC sector

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