Bigben Interactive (ISIN FR0000074072) has today reported its consolidated sales for the first quarter of its 2024/25 financial year (period from 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024).
Sales (unaudited)
2024/25
2023/24(1)
% change
€ million
First quarter (April-June)
57.9
63.5
-8.9%
NACON Gaming
32.3
35.5
-9.0%
Bigben AudioVideo/Telco
25.6
28.1
-8.7%
(1) Adjusted by €3 million for the partial disposal of Gollum.
NACON Gaming generated first-quarter 2024/25 sales of €32.3 million, breaking down as follows:
Gaming sales totalled €17.8 million in the first quarter of 2024/25. Catalogue sales (new games) amounted to €3.8 million. Those figures reflect the impact of the following factors:
A high base for comparison, since the first quarter of 2023/24 saw the release of The Lord of the Rings GollumTM, TT Isle of Man Ride on Edge 3TM and RavenswatchTM on early access.
Some new games were released in the first quarter of 2024/25: Crown WarsTM: The Black Prince in May and Tour de France 2024TM / Pro Cycling Manager in June.
The Group expects growth in the Gaming business to resume in the second quarter, with several major new games scheduled for release in September and October.
Back Catalogue sales (games released in previous years) were strong again at €14.0 million. They were supported by the large number of games released in 2023/24 and particularly Robocop: Rogue City TM and other hits such as Taxi LifeTM and Welcome to ParadizeTM.
Accessories: sales of RIG 600 PRO headsets and REVOLUTION 5 PRO controllers were particularly strong in the United States and Australia. As a result, Accessories sales rose 27.5% to €13.3 million.
Bigben – AudioVideo/Telco’s sales amounted to €25.6 million as opposed to €28.1 million in the first quarter of 2023/24.
Mobile Accessories: First-quarter business levels were affected by low store footfall and the absence of major product launches by the two leading smartphone producers. Nevertheless, the Mobile Accessories business was resilient, with sales down only 4% to €20.7 million, due in particular to the Force brand. For example, sales of Force Play products rose by 19%.
Audio/Video: The first quarter got off to a good start, but the Audio/Video business was also affected by low store footfall in June. Sales amounted to €4.9 million in the quarter, compared with €6.4 million in the same period of the previous year. Performance then improved in July, with strong sales.
Positive outlook for the coming months
NACON
Gaming:Busy release schedule NACON will release a large number of games in the second quarter of 2024/25, including Tiebreak:Official game of the ATP and WTA on 22 August, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar CrownTM on 12 September (which has broken NACON’s previous record in terms of preorders) and Greedfall II: The Dying World on early access.
The 2024/25 line-up will therefore be impressive, with around 15 games in total slated for release during the period including Terminator: SurvivorsTM and Endurance, but also Ravenswatch, which is already out on early access for PC, Rugby25, MXGP: The Official Motocross Videogame, Ambulance Life, and Hell is Us.
Accessories: The Accessories business should remain buoyant, driven by growth in the installed base of consoles and the release of innovative new products in the third quarter of the financial year. With the creation of the REVOSIM by Nacon brand and the launch of new premium products (REVOSIM steering wheel, RIG 900 headset, etc.), in a few months’ time NACON will be the only company in the world to offer a comprehensive range of games and accessories for motor racing fans.
In 2024/25, because of the expected momentum in its two business areas, NACON is confident that it will continue to generate growth, accompanied by a further increase in operating income.
Bigben – AudioVideo/Telco
The Mobile Accessories business is likely to have a solid second quarter because of the Force range and the release of a large number of new products (a 100% eco-designed surge protection power strip, a TÜV-certified antibacterial cleaning spray, universal and international 65W travel chargers, etc.).
The Audio/Video business will continue its strategy of diversifying its points of sale and will be supported by:
the success of Thomson’s Cosy range, with new products scheduled for release,
and the launch of the new HiBuddies range of nightlights for children, which is already widely stocked by retailers.
The Group is therefore confirming its target of growing both sales and operating income in full-year 2024/25.
Next event:
Publication of second quarter 2024/25 sales on 28 October 2024 after the market close
ABOUT BIGBEN INTERACTIVE
2023/24 IFRS SALES: €292 MILLION 2023/24 OPERATING INCOME: €23.8 MILLION
WORKFORCE Over 1,300 employees
INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE 31 subsidiaries and a distribution network covering more than 100 countries www.bigben-group.com
Bigben is a pan-European player in publishing video games and designing and distributing mobile accessories, gaming accessories and audio/video products. The Group is known for being innovative and creative and aims to be one of Europe’s leading companies in each of its markets.
Listed on Euronext Paris, Compartment B – Index: CAC Mid & Small – Eligible for the long-only deferred settlement service ISIN: FR0000074072; Reuters: BIGPA; Bloomberg: BIGFP
PRESS CONTACT Cap Value – Gilles Broquelet gbroquelet@capvalue.fr - +33 (0)1 80 81 50 01
