PRESS RELEASE

NACON: Sales for first half of FY 2020/21: 86.6 M€ (+35.9 %) - Seite 2

Over the period, the Games business posted 18.3 M€ sales, up 3.0% when compared with Q2 2019/2020. The business benefited from the launch of the WRC 9 game (Metacritic average score: 82) and the Tennis World Tour 2 game. A significant proportion of WRC 9 sales is expected in November with the release of the new Next Gen consoles, PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X|S. Digital sales remained at a high level, with a strong increase in the contribution from the back catalogue (7.0 M€ compared with 2.8 M€ in Q2 2019/2020).

ACCESSORIES

In Q2 2020/2021, Nacon's Accessories business recorded a stronger-than-expected growth with 29.0 M€ sales, up 106.5%, in a very active market. This achievement mainly resulted from the successful marketing of RIG headsets in the USA and sustained sales of official controllers for PlayStation4 consoles.

A very brisk first half

Over the first half of FY 2020/2021 (from 1 April to 30 September 2020), despite a high basis of comparison in Q1 2020/2021 (several major titles were released in Q1 2019/2020), sales rose 35.9% to 86.6 M€. Over the period as a whole, the business was driven in particular by growth in digital sales of games (72% of total games sales) and by a range of accessories that benefited from strong demand for premium headsets.

Favourable outlook

Business in the second half of FY 2020/2021 (from 1 October 2020 to 31 March 2021) is expected to be bustling thanks to:

• the concomitance of two generations of consoles (Current Gen: PlayStation4 and Xbox one, and Next Gen: PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X|S) on which Nacon will simultaneously operate almost all of its future productions;
• the growth in digital sales and the release of Next Gen versions of WRC 9, Tennis World Tour 2, and Hunting Simulator 2, as well as the launch of 5 new games (Warhammer: Chaosbane, Monster Truck Championship, Blood Bowl 3, Handball 21, Werewolf: the Apocalypse - Earthblood, Rogue Lords);
• the order book for headsets from major American retailers for the Christmas season;
• the release of the Revolution X and Pro Compact controller range for the new Microsoft console, and a special MG-X Series for Cloud Gaming.

Improvement expected in Current Operating Income⁽²⁾  in FY first half