PRESS RELEASE: BIGBEN: Sales growth in 3rd quarter of FY 2019/20: + 6.3%
Press release
20 January 2020 18:00
Sales growth in 3rd quarter of FY 2019/20: + 6.3%
· Growth of Gaming, now the 1st business of the group
· Decrease of Mobile in a transition market
· Strong increase in Audio sales
Outlook : confirmation of targets
| IFRS – M€ Sales | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | Change |
| 1st Quarter | 58.6 | 48.7 | +20.3% |
| 2nd Quarter | 68.5 | 57.3 | +19.5% |
| 3rd Quarter (1) of which: Gaming of which: Mobile of which: Audio | 85.4 37.7 30.8 16.9 | 80.3 31.6 34.5 14.2 | +6.3% +19.2% -10.8% +19.5% |
| 9 months (cumulative) of which: Gaming of which: Mobile of which: Audio | 212.4 99.8 83.6 29.0 | 186.3 79.1 82.5 24.7 | +14.0% +26.2% +1.4% +17.3% |
XX
(1)Non audited data
Further sales growth in 3rd quarter
For Q3 2019/20 (October to December 2019), Bigben posted a fifth consecutive quarter of sales growth. This growth amounted to 6.3% over the period and was pulled by thriving Gaming and Audio sales.
GAMING
In the wake of previous quarters, the Gaming business showed a sustained increase of sales to 37.7 M€ in the third quarter of 2019/20 (up 19.2% compared to Q3 2018/19).
- Games: The Games segment posted 17.2 M€ sales in Q3 2019/20, up by 38.3%. Publishing benefited from the launch of several new games including Bee Simulator and Farmer's Dynasty developed in partnership with external studios and from the acceleration of digital sales which represent 70% of Games revenue in Q3 2019/20.
- Accessories: Gaming Accessories sales were up 6.8% to 20.5 M€ thanks in particular to the launch of the REVOLUTION Pro Controller 3 controller for PS4TM in October 2019 which helped to consolidate the offer in the premium segment and to further sales of Nintendo SWITCH accessories.
MOBILE
The Mobile business posted 30.8 M€ sales in Q3 2019/20, down 10.8%. It suffered from a particularly sluggish market pending the deployment timelines in France for the new 5G licenses. Over the period, the new 100% eco-friendly Justgreen ® brand released in November was well received by customers while the Force® range was enhanced by the offer of a Force Moov ® connected electric scooter. The entire Force® range accounted for 17.3% of Mobile sales in Q3 2019/20.
AUDIO
Audio sales amounted to 16.9 M€ in Q3 2019/20, an increase of 19.5% driven by the launch in October of the AromaSound® range of speakers diffusing organic essential oils which complemented the Group’s own-brand products such as Lumin'Us and Bigben Party and those of the Thomson range.
Outlook
GAMING
Publishing will see the release of several new games in Q4 2019-20, including AO Tennis 2, which impressed critics at its recent launch, Rugby 20 (developed by the Eko Software studio), Overpass as well as TT Isle of Man 2 (developed by the Kylotonn/KT Racing studio).
MOBILE
The Mobile business is anticipating a comeback in 2020 with dynamic 5G offerings which, building on the Group's longstanding expertise, will enable consumers to renew not only their smartphones but also their accessories. Force® brands will be enhanced, in particular through a partnership agreement signed by Bigben with Samsung to consolidate the premium positioning of Force Glass® and Force Case® products. Efforts for a more environmentally responsible production will be increased, thus meeting the expectations of a growing customer target. These actions will be carried out in France and towards new international markets.
AUDIO
In the last quarter of FY 2019/20, the Group will continue the deployment of its range of AromaSound® speakers diffusing organic essential oils as well as of its other core products.
The solid level of activity since the beginning of current financial year allows the Group to confirm its annual targets with sales between 270 and 290 M€ and a current operating margin (2) of 11%.
In addition, the Group is continuing its strategic developments in its target markets in order to achieve the targets of its "BIGBEN 2022" plan, with 350 M€ sales and a current operating margin (2) of more than 12% for the 2021/22 financial year.
(2) Current Operating Margin = ROC Rate = Current Operating Income Relative to sales
Update on the Nacon subsidiary
Bigben confirms its plan to go public with Nacon, raising funds in order to significantly accelerate the growth of its Gaming business. The timing of this IPO will depend on market conditions, while Bigben intends to retain control of Nacon at the end of this possible transaction.
For information purposes, Nacon's (unaudited) sales for Q3 2019/20 (1 October 2019 to 31 December 2019) are as follows:
| IFRS – M€ Sales | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | Change |
| 1st Half-year (3) (5) | 63.7 | 48.6 | +31.3% |
| 3rd Quarter (4) (5) | 40.5 | 34.7 | +16.4% |
| 9 months (cumulative) | 104.2 | 83.3 | +25.1% |
3) Sales flows for the Gaming business prepared on the basis of Bigben Interactive's accounting records. These flows integrate development studio acquisitions as from their actual acquisition date.
(4) Nacon SAS sales unaudited data
(5) The difference between the above mentioned Nacon sales figures and the "Gaming" turnover shown in the Bigben table comes from the Mobile and Audio turnover remaining with the Nacon subsidiaries which were not carved off during the partial asset contribution from Bigben Interactive to Nacon. These are included in the "Mobile" and "Audio" categories of Bigben's sales.
Upcoming publication:
Annual sales 2019 / 2020: Monday 27 April 2020
Press release after close of the stock market
| ABOUT BIGBEN INTERACTIVE | |
| SALES 2018-2019 245.5 M€ HEADCOUNT Near 650 employees INTERNATIONAL 16 subsidiaries and a distribution network in 100 countries | Bigben Interactive is a European player in video game development and publishing, in design and distribution of smartphone and gaming accessories as well as in audio products. The Group, which is recognized for its capacities in terms of innovation and creativity, intends to become one of Europe’s leaders in each of its business segments. Company listed on Euronext Paris, compartment B – Index : CAC SMALL – Eligible SRD long ISN : FR0000074072 ; Reuters : BIGPA ; Bloomberg : BIGFP PRESS CONTACTS CapValue – Gilles Broquelet - 01 |
Attachment
