PRESS RELEASE: BIGBEN: FIRST-QUARTER 2023/24 SALES: €66.5 million

Bigben                                                Press release

    Lesquin, 24 July 2023, 18:00 CEST

FIRST-QUARTER 2023/24 SALES: €66.5 million
CONFIRMATION OF 2023/24 GUIDANCE

Bigben Interactive (ISIN FR0000074072) today announces its consolidated sales for the first quarter of its 2023/24 financial year (period from 1 April to 30 June 2023).

(1)   Unaudited figures

NACON Gaming’s sales during the period amounted to €38.5 million.

Sales in the Gaming business were stable year-on-year at €27.4 million.

Catalogue sales (new games) rose by 4.5% to €15.6 million. Despite the weak performance of The Lord of the Rings Gollum^TM, sales of Tour de France and TT Isle of Man Ride on Edge 3 were 20% and 10% higher respectively than those of their previous versions, while the performance of Ravenswatch available in early access since April 2023, was exceptional.

Back catalogue sales (games released in previous years) fell by 6.8% to €11.8 million, affected by their high base for comparison after months of strong growth.

ACCESSORIES: The upturn in the sales trend, which began at the end of the last financial year, will be confirmed in September because pre-orders of new controllers and headsets are excellent.

Bigben – Audiovideo/Telco generated sales of €28.1 million in the first quarter.

MOBILE ACCESSORIES: In a contracting smartphone market, sales of these products are holding steady due to market share gains by the premium Energie range and the strong performance of the Force brand. Sales during the period amounted to €21.7 million versus €21.6 million in the first quarter of 2022/23.

AUDIOVIDEO: At constant scope, sales in this business line rose to €6.4 million in the first quarter, up from €6.1 million in the year-earlier period. That growth was driven by good performance in the Audio business, with new ranges being very well received in the market and with new retailers starting to sell the company’s products.

Aiming for strong growth in 2023/24

As announced, the 2023-2024 financial year will be marked by sustained publishing activity, with around twenty games being released over the period.

Two new games will be released in the second quarter: Overpass2 et AD Infinitum.
The third quarter will see a host of new releases, including Robocop : Rogue City, Gangs of Sherwood, Cricket24 ou encore Astérix & Obelix : Heroes.

Despite a high base for comparison, back catalogue sales will continue to rise due to the addition of games released in 2022/23, and growth should resume in the second quarter.

Finally, the Accessories business should start to recover from the third quarter due to growth in the installed base of new consoles and the release of several very promising new products.

Bigben Audio-Video/Telco will have good momentum, particularly in mobile accessories with the expansion of the Force range, along with the release of the new iPhone and its accessory ecosystem. In the AudioVideo segment, commercial synergies and new retailer listings will continue.

As a result, the Group remains confident and is expecting strong growth in sales and operating income in the 2023/24 financial year.

Dividend 

In the Shareholders’ General Meeting of 21 July 2023, shareholders approved the payment of a dividend in kind, with one (1) NACON share being paid for every five (5) Bigben Interactive shares held, subject to confirmation of the distribution ratio by Bigben Interactive’s Board of Directors on 28 July 2023 in view of NACON’s opening share price. The payment date will be 28 July 2023.

Next key event:

Publication of first half 2023/24 sales on 30 October 2023 after the market close

Attachment

• CP_BBI_CAT1 23-24 version definitive_English