Gambling technology supplier Evolution AB released its first quarter interim report today posting strong growth across all key metrics supported by its Live Casino segment.
Strong Financial Metrics
For the first three months ended March 31, 2022, Evolution accounted for operating revenues of €326.8 million ($342.3 million), an increase of 38.6% to €235.8 million ($247.6 million) the business ended the first quarter of 2021 with. Growth was driven by the increasing demand for Live Casino, Evolution’s chief executive officer Martin Carlesund outlined.
With momentum in the segment continuing in the first three months of 2022, Evolution accounted for a 44% increase despite the demanding comparable figures of Q1 2021 when the business had experienced exceptional growth.
“2022 has started very well and the entertainment and excitement that Live games offer continues to drive new as well as existing customers to our games,” Carlesund pointed out.
First-quarter EBITDA registered an increase of 43.4% to €229.7 million ($241.2 million), as compared to €160.1 million ($168.1 million) in the respective quarter of 2021, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 70.3%, up from 67.9% in Q1 a year before.
Commenting on the EBITDA reding, Carlesund noted it was within the company’s 2022 guidance of between 69% and 71%, a good result in the light of growing general costs around the world.
“Looking ahead we see that the guidance of 69-71 percent EBITDA margin remains.”
Martin Carlesund, CEO, Evolution
Evolution ended the first quarter of 2022 with a profit of €197.7 million ($207.6 million), up 49.8% from €132 million ($138.6 million) the business generated in the first quarter of the year before. Diluted per share of capital, the profit amounted to €0.93 ($.98), an increase of 50% to €0.62 ($0.65) in Q1 2021.
New Product Development
Carlesund stressed the importance of having a network of developer studios as Evolution is putting the final pieces together to open its new studio in Yerevan and add more capacity to its network of 15 studios to have the ability to “efficiently allocate resources” and “shift resources from one site to another when needed” without impacting the company’s capacity to deliver.
Additionally, Evolution’s Go-Live studio in Madrid was also ready to launch operations, with the first tables opening alongside the interim report release, Carlesund noted, while total investment in studios in 2022 is expected to increase.
Carlesund also paid attention to the “continued strong demand for online casino” worldwide. In North America, the company’s next studio is set to launch in Connecticut to continue the expansion, while in Europe growth is slowing down mainly due to regulatory changes which affected operators.
He emphasized that the creation of new games lies at the core of everything at Evolution, mentioning all the newly released during the reported quarter titles, including the Bac Bo dice game, Peek Baccarat, new RNG titles such as Narcos Mexico and Knight Rider, and home-grown brands like Doggy Riches Megaways and Zillard King.
“With our 88 new games [in] 2022 we have shown what thousands and thousands of fantastic Evolution employees can achieve together,” Carlesund concluded.