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volution Gaming released Friday its Interim Report for January-June 2020. Revenues for the second quarter amounted to EUR 128.3 million, an increase of 50% compared to the corresponding period last year. EBITDA increased by 90% to EUR 81,1 million, with a margin of 63 percent.
As for the first half of 2020, operating revenues increased by 48% to EUR 243,5 million. EBITDA was up by 85% to EUR 145,3 million, corresponding to a margin of 59.7%.
Evolution Gaming CEO Martin Carlesund said the second quarter has been “eventful with several product launches and a very high demand, partly due to the lack of sports betting games through a large part of the period, but we also see strong underlying growth.”
Carlesund said the EBITDA margin during Q2 has been positively affected by high demand and that the firm has operated fewer tables due to the pandemic. However, he said the lower number of tables has had a negative effect on revenue both through lower fees from its dedicated environments and through lower capacity than normal. For the January-June period, “the margin was 60 percent, meaning we have a good distance to our previous prediction of improving the margin level this year compared to 2019,” he added.
At the end of June, the company announced a recommended offer to the shareholders of NetEnt with the aim to expand Evolution’s offering with market-leading slots and “become the leading B2B provider in online casino,” according to the company’s CEO. “To add NetEnt’s leading slots to Evolution’s strong Live Casino offering will create a very strong market position significantly faster, especially in the USA, and together with clear synergies we believe this to be a strategic and highly attractive acquisition. A future Evolution with two verticals as the foundation will increase cash flow and reduce risk, while the growth potential increases. The bid process continues according to the previously announced time schedule.”
So far this year, Evolution has launched 8 out of the 12 games that the company will launch in 2020. Carlesund said all new titles, especially in the Game Show category, contribute to a generally higher interest in Live Casino. “To meet the increasing demand, it is vital that we continue to expand our studio capacity. Our Pennsylvania studio will be our 9th studio. Upcoming additions include a studio in Michigan and an English speaking studio in Lithuania.”
