BIGBEN INTERACTIVE : 1st Quarter sales of FY 2017/2018: € 47.1 M, up 23.9 %

Bigben Interactive

Press release

24 July 2017, 18:00

1st Quarter sales of FY 2017/2018:  € 47.1 M, up 23.9 %

2017/2018 Sales target raised

XX

            Non audited data

Sales growth in the three business segments for Q1 2017/2018

In 1st quarter of fiscal year 2017/2018 (from April 1^st until June 30, 2017), Bigben achieved 47.1 M€ sales up by 23.9 % when compared with the same period of previous fiscal year. All business segments grew with notably another strong acceleration of Gaming sales.

GAMING

The Gaming business segment recorded a growth of 47.2% in the first quarter of FY 2017/2018 with 14.7 M€ sales.
· Accessories: The performance of the Gaming segment was driven by accessories with sales growing by 141% to 9.6 M€ thanks to the success of accessories for the new Nintendo SWITCH^TM console format and to further sales of the REVOLUTION Pro Controller^TM for PlayStation®4 with nearly 250,000 units delivered up until the end of June.

· Publishing: At the same time, in spite of the great success of the "Hunting Simulator" video game, Publishing sales dropped by 39% to 2.7 M€, due to a high comparison base with Q1 sales of FY 2016/2017 which included the release of the "Sherlock Holmes, the Devil's Daughter" blockbuster. It should be noted that the launch of blockbusters for the current financial year will mainly take place in the second half of FY 2017/2018. In line with the changing distribution model of video games, digital sales grew further (+ 22%) thanks to the back catalog and contributed to 54% of Publishing sales.

MOBILE

In the first quarter of FY 2017/2018, the Mobile business segment reported a 17.3% increase in sales, reaching 26.7 M€. This momentum was supported by the on-going success of the Force Glass^TM tempered glass protection screens created by Bigben, its millionth unit being sold at the beginning of July 2017. The demand for high-end accessories continued to boost the segment with in particular the new Samsung® Galaxy S8 and the J3, J5 models.

                         
AUDIO

Despite a generally sluggish market, the Audio business segment returned to growth in the first quarter of FY 2017/2018. Sales increased by 8.2% to 5.7 M€ thanks to the growing success of the Thomson® range developed by Bigben and the good level of sales of innovative products under the Bigben brand.

Favourable prospects of growth and profitability

In the second quarter of 2017/2018, the Gaming business is expected to benefit both from the launch of the Outcast and WRC7 games and from the release of Hunting Simulator across North and South America on July 11th, as well as from:

· the on-going success of its accessory range for the Nintendo SWITCH ^TMformat,
· the first sales of the REVOLUTION Pro Controller 2 ^TM for PlayStation®4,
· the marketing animation of the REVOLUTION Pro Controller ^TM through the launch of new colour versions.


The second half of FY 2017/2018 should see the release of most major titles including "TT Isle of Man", "Rugby 18" and "Tennis World Tour" as well as "Snow Moto Racing Freedom" and "Aqua Moto Racing Utopia", two exclusive titles for the Nintendo SWITCH^TM console which should benefit from both the excellent performances of the console and the still restricted offer of gaming titles for this format. The strategic partnerships with Sony will be continued and enhanced by new agreements.

The Mobile business will be hallmarked by the launch this summer of the new Force Case^TM brand (innovative protection cases guaranteed for life) following the Force Glass^TM brand, the success of which is  confirmed over the long term. The releases of the new Apple and Samsung smartphones by the end of the year should also give an additional momentum to sales of accessories for high-end smartphones.

Finally, in Audio, Bigben Interactive intends further developing its market share through new innovations for the Bigben products and a larger Thomson® line-up.

The Bigben Group also announces that it has taken a minority stake of 24.99% in the capital of Kylotonn, a French studio in charge of the development of its "WRC", "TT Isle of Man" and "FlatOut 4: Total Insanity" games.

The favourable trend in the first quarter and the new products planned for the rest of the year enable the Group to raise its FY 2017/2018 sales target from 235 M€ to 245 M€ and to confirm a Result from Current Operations exceeding 7.0% against 5.3% achieved in FY 2016/2017.

In addition, the targets for FY 2019/2020 are confirmed with sales exceeding 280 M€ and a Result from Current Operations of 9%.
L

Upcoming publication:

• Sales for 2^nd quarter of FY 2017/18 : Monday 23 October 2017

      Press release after close of the stock market