BIGBEN INTERACTIVE Press release
20 November 2017, 18:00
Strong increase of interim result 2017/18 Current operating profit: + 238.7% (6.0 M€ i.e. 5.5% of Sales) Net profit: +102.4% (4.2 M€ i.e. 3.8% of Sales) Confirmation of 2017/18 targets Advance payment on dividend: 0.10 €BIGBEN INTERACTIVE (ISIN FR0000074072) today releases its audited consolidated interim results for the financial year closing on 31 March 2018 as approved by its Board of directors on 20 November 2017.
| Consolidated highlights in M€ IFRS | 09/2017 | 09/2016 | Change |
| Sales | 110.0 | 84.9 | +29.6% |
| EBITDA In % of sales | 12.1 11.0% | 6.2 7.3% | +94.4% |
| Current operating result In % of sales | 6.0 5.5% | 1.8 2.1% | +238.7% |
| Operating result In % of sales | 5.6 5.1% | 1.7 2.0% | +224.0% |
| Financial result Of which currency gain/(loss) | (1.4) (0.9) | 0.8 1.3 | |
| Earnings before tax In % of sales | 4.3 3.9% | 2.6 3.0% | +66.5% |
| Tax | (0.1) | (0.3) | |
| Results from equity investments | (0.2) | ||
| Net Result for the period In % of sales | 4.2 3.8% | 2.1 2.4% | +102.4% |
Acceleration of growth
The Bigben Group achieved consolidated sales of € 110.0 million in the first half of FY 2017/18 (from 1 April to 30 September 2017), an increase of 29.6% when compared to the first half of previous FY. The three businesses of the Group contributed to this growth with in particular a strong increase in Gaming sales driven by the rise of accessories and the WRC7 and Hunting Simulator software titles, as well as by the success met by the Force GlassTM and Force CaseTM house brands in the Mobile business.
Threefold increase of operational profitability in value
In the first half of FY 2017/2018, the Bigben Group showed a significant increase in its operational profitability thanks to a significant rise in turnover combined with an ongoing control of overheads.
EBITDA amounted to € 12.1 million i.e. increasing by 94.4% when compared to the first half of FY 2016/17.
The EBITDA rate thus represented 11.0% of turnover i.e. an increase of 3.7 points. This achievement enabled the Group to absorb an additional € 1.7 million in depreciation related to the development of new games.
Current operating income reached € 6.0 million, a threefold increase from the first half of the previous year. The current operating profit rate was 5.5% compared to 2.1% in the previous year.
Net result for the period amounted to € 4.2 million (3.8% of sales) in the first half of the year 2017/18, to be compared to € 2.1 million (2.4 % of sales) in the same period of previous year, up by 102.4%.
Solid balance sheet structure
As at 30 September 2017, the balance sheet structure of Bigben showed shareholders' funds of € 130.3 million, compared with € 118.6 million on 30 September 2016, an increase of € 11.7 million.
Debt went down with a net financial debt rate of 12.4% compared to 21.2% on 30 September 2016.
In order to finance its strategy, the Group has contracted new medium-term loans since 31 March 2017 and the average cost of financing should improve by 150 bp in next FY 2018/19.
It should be noted that in a context of strong growth, Bigben has also managed to control its stock level, which remained almost equivalent to that recorded on 30 September 2016.
Prospects: Confirming the growth and profitability targets
In the 2nd half of FY 2017/2018, Bigben intends to maintain the momentum generated by its three businesses.
Banking on the advance gained in the first half, Bigben decides to shift to May 2018, on the next financial year, the release of Tennis World Tour in order to benefit from both a simultaneous launch on the three (PS4 ®, Xbox One ®, SWITCH TM) console formats and the media impact of Roland Garros 2018.
Given the shift of the gaming title with the most significant potential in its software catalogue, Bigben:
- confirms its 2017/2018 targets with Sales between € 235 and 245 million and a Current Operating Profitability in excess of 7%,
- anticipates a sharp Sales increase in the first half of FY 2018/19.
The Group also confirms the targets of its "BIGBEN 2020" Plan:
- Sales in excess of € 280 million and a Current Operating Profitability of 9%.
Interim dividend
As the results are in line with the Group's forecasts, the Board of directors of Bigben Interactive meeting on 20 November 2017 decided to distribute an interim dividend of € 0.10 per share, due on the final dividend for the full FY 2017/18.
The ex-dividend date will be on 04 January 2018 and payment will take place on 08 January 2018.
Upcoming publication:
3rd quarter sales 2017/ 2018: Monday 22 January 2018
Press release after close of the stock market
| ABOUT BIGBEN INTERACTIVE | |
| SALES 2016-2017 208,1M€ HEADCOUNT ca. 350 employees INTERNATIONAL 9 subsidiaries and a distribution network in 50 countries www.bigben-group.com | Bigben Interactive is a European player in video game 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 C - Index : CAC SMALL - Éligible SRD long ISN : FR0000074072 ; Reuters : BIGPA ; Bloomberg : BIGFP PRESS CONTACTS CapValue - Gilles Broquelet gbroquelet@capvalue.fr - +33 1 80 81 50 01 |
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: BIGBEN INTERACTIVE via Globenewswire
