Earnings Release • Jan 20, 2020
Earnings Release
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| IFRS – M€ Sales |
2019/20 | 2018/19 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 st Quarter |
58.6 | 48.7 | +20.3% |
| 2 nd Quarter |
68.5 | 57.3 | +19.5% |
| rd Quarter (1) 3 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% |
(1)Non audited data
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.
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).
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 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 ownbrand products such as Lumin'Us and Bigben Party and those of the Thomson range.
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).
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.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| st Half-year (3) (5) 1 |
63.7 | 48.6 | +31.3% |
| rd Quarter (4) (5) 3 |
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.
Press release after close of the stock market
| SALES 2018-2019 245.5 M€ |
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. |
|---|---|
| HEADCOUNT Near 650 employees |
Company listed on Euronext Paris, compartment B – Index : CAC SMALL – Eligible SRD long ISN : FR0000074072 ; Reuters : BIGPA ; Bloomberg : BIGFP |
| INTERNATIONAL 16 subsidiaries and a distribution |
PRESS CONTACTS |
| network in 100 countries www.bigben-group.com |
CapValue – Gilles Broquelet [email protected] - +33 1 80 81 50 01 |
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