PRESS RELEASE:BIGBEN: FY 2021/22 SALES OF 275.7 M€, IN LINE WITH THE ANNOUNCED TARGET

                                                Press release

           Lesquin, 25 April 2022 – 18:00 hrs

FY 2021/22 SALES OF 275.7 M€, IN LINE WITH THE ANNOUNCED TARGET

CONFIRMATION OF FY 2022/23 TARGETS

BIGBEN INTERACTIVE (ISIN FR0000074072) today announced its annual sales for FY 2021/22 (period from 1^st April to 31 March).

(1)   ^{Non audited data}

Highlights :

• A financial year globally penalised by tensions on game console and smartphone supplies at worldwide level which affected the activities of the two Group entities.
  
  
• Achievement of the sales targets announced at the time of the 2021/22 half-year results.
  
  
• Confirmation of a significant growth for FY 2022/23 with sales ranging between 400 M€ and 450 M€. The current operating margin ⁽²⁾ should exceed 14 %.
  
  

Q4 2021/22 sales down 13.6% to 60.3 M€

NACON GAMING

The Video Games business posted sales of 12.9 M€, down 42.6% over the quarter. This change resulted from the postponement of several game releases to FY 2022/23, in particular the highly awaited Vampire: The Masquerade® - Swansong title.
The only release of the quarter, Rugby 22, was well received and outperformed Rugby 20.
The back catalogue ⁽³⁾ business performed well with sales up 12.7% to 6.9 M€.

The Accessories business held up well against a backdrop of a shortage of consoles and an unfavourable geopolitical and economic environment. It posted 17.9 M€ for Q4 sales, down 6.0%.

BIGBEN AUDIOVIDEO/TELCO

The business unit posted a 5.3% increase in Q4 sales at 28.6 M€.

• Mobile Accessories sales grew by 1.2% over the period to 21.8 M€. The Force Power®, Bigben® and Just Green® ranges continued to benefit from the removal of original chargers and pedestrian kits ⁽⁴⁾    from most new smartphones. The postponement of the release of several premium smartphones to April and May 2022 dampened the increase in accessory sales at the end of FY 2021/22. Sales through other distribution channels continue according to business plan.
  
  
• Audio/Video achieved Q4 sales of 6.7 M€ with the inclusion of Metronic compared to 5.8 M€ in FY 2020/21.
  
  

2021/22 sales in line with the announced target

Over the entire FY 2021/22 hallmarked by a business context disrupted by several external factors (shortage of components, delay in the release of new game controllers or smartphones, etc.), Bigben achieved sales of 275.7 M€ within the announced range. Due to slightly lower than expected Q4 sales, current operating income is expected to be between 19 M€ and 21 M€ for the full year.

Ambitious targets confirmed for FY 2022/23

NACON GAMING

The quantity and quality of the games expected for FY 2022/23 will have a "booster" effect on the activity of this new financial year.

Due to the high level of editorial activity (Vampire: The Masquerade® - Swansong, Tour de France 2022 and Pro Cycling Manager, Zorro The Chronicles,), sales in Q1 2022/23 will be up sharply.

Following the acquisitions of Midgar Studio and Daedalic Entertainment, Nacon will further pursue its external growth strategy in order to strengthen its ability to develop new quality games internally.

BIGBEN AUDIOVIDEO/TELCO

In a market that could gradually return to normal in terms of components’ availability and allow for the upcoming release of the latest smartphones driving the Accessories business, Bigben anticipates growth for FY 2022/23.

This target is driven in the Mobile Accessories business by several growth vectors:

• the launch by manufacturers of new ranges of smartphones without chargers and pedestrian kits ⁽⁴⁾ will continue to boost sales of the energy range and wireless headphones
• the continued deployment of the 5G network will encourage the renewal of the mobile fleet.

AudioVideo sales will benefit from the integration of Metronic over a full financial year and from synergies that are gradually being implemented.

In this context, the Bigben Group reiterates its target of achieving sales of between 400 M€ and 450 M€ in FY 2022/23 with a current operating margin in excess of 14 %.

Upon release of FY 2021/22 results on 30 May, the Bigben Group will detail its business plan for the current year.

⁽²⁾ COI rate = Current Operating Income as a percentage of sales = Current Operating Margin
⁽³⁾ Back catalogue : games released in previous financial years
⁽⁴⁾ Pedestrian kits refer to wired headphones for smartphones

Next Publication:

Annual Results 2021/22: 30 May 2022 (Press release after close of the Paris stock exchange)

Attachment

• CP_BBI_CA_T4 2021 2022_Diffusion -ENG