PRESS RELEASE: BIGBEN: SALES UP 18.3% TO €94.1 MILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2023/24

                                        Press release

Lesquin, 22 January 2024, 6.00pm CET

SALES UP 18.3% TO €94.1 MILLION
IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2023/24

STRONG FULL-YEAR EARNINGS GROWTH EXPECTED

Bigben Interactive (ISIN FR0000074072) today announces its consolidated sales for the third quarter of its 2023/24 financial year (period from 1 October to 31 December 2023).

In the third quarter of 2023/24, NACON Gaming’s sales rose sharply to €59.0 million.

GAMING: Performance in the Gaming business was excellent, with sales up 74.3%.

Catalogue sales (new games) amounted to €20.7 million, an increase of 102.2% driven by the success of Robocop: Rogue City ^TM, which achieved record sales and obtained a User Score of 92% on Steam, along with good sales of Cricket 24: Official Game of The Ashes^TM.

Back Catalogue sales (games released in previous years) also rose by 42.1% to €12.6 million, boosted by an increase in console ownership and the signature of a significant contract.

ACCESSORIES: Sales in this business amounted to €23.9 million, an increase of 17.1%. New products released in October – the RIG 600 PRO gaming headset and the REVOLUTION 5 PRO controller – are very widely stocked by specialist retailers and their sales have got off to a good start.

Bigben AudioVideo/Telco generated sales of €35.1 million in the third quarter.

MOBILE ACCESSORIES: Although volumes in the European smartphone market fell significantly, Mobile Accessories sales were down only 7% to €26.4 million. The Force range of premium products saw sales growth of more than 30%, helping the business achieve a good performance in the circumstances. The improved product mix should also enable it to generate wider profit margins.

AUDIOVIDEO: Sales in this business totalled €8.7 million in the third quarter versus €9.9 million in the year-earlier period.
In the first nine months of the financial year, sales in the Audio business were up around 2%.

Outlook for 2023/24: Strong growth expected in operating income

As previously announced, the second half of the 2023/24 financial year is seeing a busy release schedule, with over 10 new games during the period.

After the launch of War Hospital on 11 January and the excellent start of New Cycle released on January 18 and published by Daedalic studio, releases in the fourth quarter are set to include:

• Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown^TM,
• Taxi Life,
• Garden Life,
• Welcome to Paradize, and
• Crown Wars the Black Prince.
  
  

Back Catalogue sales should continue to show good momentum despite a high base for comparison.

The Accessories business will benefit from the success of recently launched products.

Bigben AudioVideo/Telco will continue to win market share in mobile accessories due to its position in the premium segment and the innovative nature of its products. Its FORCE PLAY 2 wireless earbuds have been voted "product of the year 2024”.

Several new products will also come to market before the end of the financial year, particularly the FORCE POWER LITE surge protection power strip and the new FORCE POWER GaN 30w charger, which carries the "Origine France Garantie” label.

In the AudioVideo segment, Thomson’s Cosy range is performing well and is continuing to be rolled out across France and Europe.

Based on expected trends in the second half as a whole, the Group confirms that it anticipates strong growth in operating income in the 2023/24 financial year.

Next key event:

Fourth-quarter 2023/24 sales: 29 April 2024
Press release after the market close

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