evoke has stated that following a "strong performance" in Q4 it expects its EBITDA to be "well ahead of market expectations" for the full financial year.

The betting and gambling firm, which owns the William Hill brand, said this is now set to be in the high end of its previous guidance range of between £300m-£310m.

In the three months to the end of December, evoke saw its group revenue increase by between 12% and 13% year-on-year, driven by online growth of between 16% and 17%.

The firm stated that as a result, revenue growth in the second half of the financial year is expected to be around 8%, which is in the upper end of its previous guidance of between 5% to 9%.

evoke said that continued improvement in growth across its core markets was "underpinned by the successful implementation of the group’s strategy", which was supported by operator friendly sports results in Q4.

Chief executive officer at evoke, Per Widerström, said: "We continue to progress with transforming the group's capabilities for the mid and long-term as we strengthen our competitive advantages, in particular better aligning our leading brands and products to a clearer customer value proposition.

"This turnaround is all supported by a clear market strategy, with our five core markets representing approximately 90% of our Q4 revenue. We are implementing a disciplined strategy with operational excellence to drive improved profitability and enable deleveraging."

He added that 2024 was a "pivotal year" for the firm as it started to implement its new strategy for success, as it moves to position itself "for mid and long-term profitable growth".

Investment analyst at AJ Bell, Dan Coatsworth, concluded: "evoke has signalled a change in fortunes as it said annual results would come in ahead of forecasts.

"One of the big negative factors that’s weighed on its share price is an onerous debt pile. Therefore, when the company announces its numbers in full, investors will want to see evidence of strong cash generation and that the company is bringing its borrowings back under control.

"Today’s positive update follows on from the first positive quarterly revenue growth in two years reported in October and suggests the company is starting to lay the foundations for recovery."

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