PRESS RELEASE: BIGBEN : STRONG SALES GROWTH IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2024/25 TO €78.0 MILLION,

                                                Press release

      Lesquin, 28 October 2024, 18:00 CEST

STRONG SALES GROWTH IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2024/25

TO €78.0 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF 20.8%

CONFIRMATION OF FULL-YEAR 2024/25 GROWTH TARGETS

Bigben Interactive (ISIN FR0000074072) today publishes its consolidated sales for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year (period from 1 April to 30 September 2024).

In the second quarter of 2024/25, the Bigben group saw good momentum, with sales up 20.8% to €78.0 million.

NACON Gaming’s sales grew by 38.5% to €44.7 million.

Gaming sales showed very strong impetus in the second quarter of 2024/25, coming in up 65.4% at €27.9 million.

Catalogue sales (new games) amounted to €14.9 million, an increase of 98.5%. That rapid growth was driven in particular by:

• The release of Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown^TM in September.
  
  
  
  

After initial technical difficulties, related mainly to servers struggling to cope with the large number of people wanting to play the game, development teams took the action needed to stabilise the network infrastructure and provide the best gaming experience. On release, the game was one of the top five best-selling games in the countries in which it is distributed.

With the server problems now resolved, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown^TM is continuing to sell well.

The game will also be improved with regular updates and new seasons, such as “Return of Ibiza”, which will be available from December. The initial gaming experience will also be enhanced gradually in future seasons with large amount of additional content.

• The excellent reception of Ravenswatch^TM, which was released on PC on 26 September and has major sales potential on consoles (release scheduled for 28 November). This game, which was initially available on early access, has already built a community of more than 600,000 active gamers and still appears on more than 700,000 residual wishlists*.
  
  
  
  

The Back Catalogue (games released in previous years) again saw strong growth. Its sales rose by 38.8% to €13.0 million. That growth was supported by the large number of successful games released in 2023/24 (Robocop: Rogue City ^TM, Taxi Life^TM, Welcome to Paradize^TM etc.).

The Accessories business also continued to post firm growth, with sales up 8.7% at €15.7 million. RIG 600 PRO headsets and REVOLUTION 5 PRO controllers continued to see very positive momentum in the US and Australia.

Bigben AudioVideo/Telco generated sales of €33.2 million as opposed to €32.2 million in the year-earlier period, an increase of 3.1%.

Mobile Accessories: Although the market continued to see limited growth, this business outperformed its sector and increased its market share. Sales rose by 4.6% to €25.4 million. The Force brand of premium, eco-designed products has attracted a wide audience through its innovative features, brand extensions and the diversification of both its product range and distribution channels.

Bigben is also stepping up its low-carbon strategy and now displays the estimated CO₂ footprint – calculated according to the strictest standards – of its Force and Bigben products.

Audio/Video: Sales in this business amounted to €7.8 million as opposed to €7.9 million in the second quarter of 2023/24.

Outlook for the coming months

NACON

The Gaming release schedule will be busy, with the release of several games in all four of NACON’s specialist genres in the second half of 2024/25.

• Sport: Rugby25^TM.
• Racing: MXGP: The Official Motocross Videogame^TM and Endurance^TM.
• Adventure: Ravenswatch^TM on console, Terminator: Survivors^TM and Dragonkin.
• Simulation: Ambulance Life^TM.

The Accessories business will see the launch of several premium products in the third quarter:

• The Revolution X Unlimited handset for Xbox.
• For fans of motor racing games, a REVOSIM steering wheel, a COBRA chair and a STAND DRIVE PRO racing stand. These product launches are the result of convergence between NACON’s video game publishing and accessories businesses.

Bigben – AudioVideo/Telco

The Mobile Accessories business expects its growth trajectory to continue due to the addition of further distribution channels and the expansion of its premium range. As a result, growth should be firm in the second half of 2024/25.

The Audio/Video business expects to reap the rewards of its expansion strategy in terms of the number of sales outlets, as well as benefiting from new products in Thomson’s Cosy range and the success of its HiBuddies range of nightlights for children.

The Group is therefore confirming its target of growing both sales and operating income in full-year 2024/25.

* Residual wishlists: purchase intentions not yet realised.

** Calculation of the carbon footprint using the LCA method (life cycle analysis in five stages) in accordance with the ISO 14040/44 standard.

Next event: First-half 2024/25 results

Press release: 25 November 2024 after the market close

SFAF meeting: 11am on 26 November 2024

Attachment