PRESS RELEASE: BIGBEN: THIRD QUARTER 2024/25 SALES OF €87.7 MILLION

                                                Press release

      Lesquin, 20 January 2025, 6.00pm CET

THIRD QUARTER 2024/25 SALES OF €87.7 MILLION

Bigben Interactive (ISIN FR0000074072) has today announced its consolidated sales for the first nine months of the 2024/25 financial year (nine months from 1 April to 31 December 2024).

(1)   Unaudited figures

NACON Gaming’s sales totalled €52.9 million in the third quarter of 2024/25.

Gaming sales amounted to €25.4 million in the third quarter of 2024/25, a decrease of 23.7%.

Catalogue sales (new games) came in at €9.8 million, down 52.9%. There were no major new releases during the period. Only one racing game (MXGP: The Official Motocross Videogame^TM) was released, whereas the year-earlier period had been boosted by the exceptional success of Robocop: Rogue City ^TM and the releases of Cricket 24: Official Game of The Ashes ^TM and Gangs of Sherwood ^TM.

The Back Catalogue (games released in previous years) again saw good momentum, with sales up 24.5% to €15.6 million. That strong growth vindicates the strategy adopted by NACON.

The Accessories business saw positive developments, with sales of RIG headsets and REVOLUTION 5 PRO controllers still buoyant in the USA and Australia. As a result, Accessories sales rose 5.3% to €25.2 million.
This strong performance came despite the delayed launch of certain products (the COBRA seat, the DRIVE PRO STAND, the REVOSIM range and the XBOX Revolution X Unlimited controller), which will now be released in 2025.

In addition, NACON has recently announced plans to build its future production plant for video gaming accessories at the Lauwin-Planque site in France. The plant will be operational later in 2025 and will give NACON better control over its supply and logistics chain, as well as enabling it to keep more value in-house and optimise its inventories.

Bigben AudioVideo/Telco: highly resilient sales of Mobile Accessories

In the third quarter of 2024/25, Bigben AudioVideo/Telco was highly resilient and posted sales of €34.8 million, almost unchanged compared with €35.1 million in the third quarter of 2023/24.

MOBILE ACCESSORIES: The market-leading smartphone producers did not release any new flagship phones during the quarter. In a contracting market, the Mobile Accessories business held out well, with sales falling only 3.9% to €25.3 million. Sales were supported by the premium market position of the Force® brand, strong sales of wireless earphones and the successful launch of Force Play Immersion® headphones.
Sales in the first nine months were virtually stable at €71.5 million.
The premium positioning of the Group’s products meant that gross margin continued to increase.

AUDIO/VIDEO: This business performed well by diversifying both its sales outlets and its product range. As a result, sales rose by 8.0% year-on-year to €9.4 million.

Outlook for the coming months

NACON

The release schedule will be slightly busier in the fourth quarter, comprising the following three games.

• Sport: Rugby25TM.
• Adventure: Dragonkin^TM on early access.
• Simulation: Ambulance Life^TM.

In addition, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown^TM is enhanced with the regular addition of content and seasons – including “Return to Ibiza”, available since December – which add to the initial gaming experience. The game is continuing to sell, and it already has more than 500,000 players.

The Accessories business will continue to perform well.

Bigben AudioVideo/Telco

In difficult market conditions, the Mobile Accessories business should generate stable sales in the fourth quarter because of:

• a good performance by the Force® range,
• the success of recently launched products such as headphones and the charger that carries the “Origine France Garantie” label, which was voted product of the year 2025 by consumers,
• the upcoming launch of several flagships by leading smartphone manufacturers in the Mobile business.

The Audio/Video business will continue its strategy of diversifying its product ranges and sales outlets, with products selected because of their quality and design.

In 2024/25, based on forecasts announced by NACON (postponed release of games together with delays launching several Accessories products), the Group now expects a slight increase in sales compared to the previous financial year, while operating income could show a decrease.

NACON’s business levels in the first half of 2025/26 will be supported by several positive factors, including:

• The contribution of new Gaming and Accessories products that were not launched in 2024/25,
• The Back Catalogue business, which will remain buoyant,
• A busy release schedule comprising around 10 new games, with the main ones due to be revealed during the NACON Connect event on 6 March,
• The arrival of the Nintendo SwitchTM 2 console, for which NACON already has compatible games and a full range of accessories.

Meanwhile, Bigben AudioVideo/Telco should take full advantage of its premium positioning in Mobile Accessories and new product launches.

As a result, sales are expected to show strong growth in the first half of 2025/26.

Next financial press release: fourth-quarter 2024/25 sales after the market close on 28 April 2025

Attachment

• CP_BBI_CAT3 24-25 English Diffusion