BIGBEN INTERACTIVE : 2013/14 first half sales of 68.2 EURm, up by 3.2 % year on year

Press Release                                         21 October 2013, 18:00 2013/14 first half sales of 68.2 EURm, up by 3.2 % year on year * preparation of a range of strategic products for the year-end sales +------------------+---------+---------+----------+ | IFRS - EURm Sales* | 2013/14 | 2012/13 | Change | +------------------+---------+---------+----------+ | 1(st) Quarter | 32.0 | 31.5 | + 1...

Press Release                                         21 October 2013, 18:00

    

          

2013/14 first half sales of 68.2 EURm, up by 3.2 % year on year

• preparation of a range of strategic products for the year-end sales

 

IFRS - EURm Sales*	2013/14	2012/13	Change
1st Quarter	32.0	31.5	+ 1.5 %
2nd Quarter	36.3	34.6	+4.8 %
Total 6 months	68.2	66.1	+3.2 %
Non audited data - (*) individual figures conform to rounding rules

Consolidated sales for the 2nd quarter of FY 2013/14 (from 01 July 2013 to 30 September 2013) reached 36.3 EURm, a like for like increase of 4.8 % when compared to the same period of the previous financial year. This achievement was supported by:  

• a 28.6 % rise of Audio products with 4.3 EURm sales showing the increasing contribution of Sound towers;
• a 4.8 % growth of Smartphone accessories with 20.6 EURm sales.

 

Prior to a strategic 3^rd quarter covering strongly expected Christmas sales with both new Bigben Interactive products and the launch of new video game console formats, sales in Gaming accessories are down to 6.7 EURm against 8.5 EURm in the second quarter of FY 2012/2013, reflecting the receding market since the beginning of the current calendar year.

 

Group consolidated sales for the first six months of the 2013/2014 financial half year amounted to 68.2 EURm, up by 3.2 % like for like. 

Breakdown of turnover by businesses (like for like)

Businesses (in EURm)*	2013/14 EURm	Relative share	2012/13 EURm	Relative Share	Change
Accessories (consoles+mobile phones)	54.1	79.3%	53.5	80.9%	+1.2 %
Audio	7.6	11.1%	5.8	8.8%	+29.7%
Publishing (retail+digital)	0.7	1.0%	0.9	1.4%	-23.4%
Design & Publishing	62.4	91.4%	60.2	91.1%	+ 3.6%
Distribution	5.9	8.6%	5.9	8.9%	-0.3%
Total	68.2	100.0%	66.1	100.0%	+3.2 %

  (*) individual figures conform to rounding rules

 

Breakdown of turnover by territories, including domestic sales and export sales

 from these territories

Cumulative in EURm*	Germany	Benelux	France	Hong Kong	Total
6 months 2012-13	5.1	5.2	54.0	1.8	66.1
6 months 2013-14	5.1	4.5	54.8	3.9	68.2

(*) individual figures conform to rounding rules

The analysis of Group sales during 2013/2014 first half shows:

·        steady sales in Germany, in spite of high sales in the same period of previous financial year due to the distribution of the Test Drive Ferrari video game software;

·        a drop in sales in Benelux due to the lack of significant releases in video game exclusive distribution;

·        a minimal growth of sales in France following the same trend as Group consolidated sales ;

·        a significant growth of sales from Hong Kong due to the deliveries to Asia of the Cyberbike for Samsung Smart TV, this zone being the first chosen for the launch of this convergence accessory.

 

Outlook: a strong product range for a strategic 3^rd quarter

Banking on the launch of several key products for Multimedia Accessories (Jean-Paul Gaultier license, Ora ïto Mobility range) and of two Gaming star products (the WRC 4 rally software published by the Group and the Gametab-One, a tablet dedicated to video gaming), Bigben Interactive approaches the Christmas sales period with confidence. This strategic period will benefit from an effervescent market boosted by the release of the new console formats i.e. 2DS(TM) by Nintendo, PlayStation®4 by Sony and XboxOne(TM) by Microsoft.

In view of the above, the Bigben Interactive Group:

• anticipates a temporary degradation of its margins resulting from a less favourable product mix in the first half of FY 2013/2014 just ended ;
• expects to restore its operating profitability in the 3^rd quarter thanks to a concentration of sales on high margin products and a sales growth in excess of 10% ;
• maintains its 2013/14 targets of sales exceeding 175 EURm (growth of more than 7 %) and of a current operating margin over 8%.

.

Next press release: Half-year results 2013/2014: Monday 18 November 2013 (after close of business)                            About Bigben Market leader for both video gaming accessories and mobile phone accessories, the BIGBEN INTERACTIVE Group has a recognized know-how for developing innovating products in order to meet the evolution of the multimedia world. Its ambition is to become a leader in converging multimedia accessories and a key player on the European multimedia market, relying on its size, its development capabilities and its commercial network. 270 employees - FY 2012/13 sales: 164 EURm - France, Benelux, Germany, Hong-Kong     BIGBEN INTERACTIVE Eurolist of Euronext Paris, C market segment - Indexes : CAC MID & SMALL Eligible stock for PEA and for SRD long  ISIN : FR0000074072 ; Reuters : BIG.PA ; Bloomberg : BIG FP   Contacts Investor relations : François Bozon, phone : + 33 (0) 3.20.90.72.53  E-mail : [email protected] - website : http//www.bigben.fr

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