Image:A GoPro Hero 3+ camera is seen at the Nasdaq Market Site before before GoPro Inc’s IPO in New York City, June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar
By Lehar Maan
(Reuters) – GoPro Inc
Shares of the company, which also forecast adjusted profit for the quarter well below analysts’ estimate, slumped 18.6 percent in extended trading on Wednesday.
GoPro Chief Executive Nicholas Woodman said weaker-than-expected demand for its Hero4 Session camera was due to its initial high price and fewer marketing campaigns.
“We made some mistakes and we have taken corrective action,” Woodman said.
The company launched its flagship camera in July for $399.99, but slashed its price by $100 two months later.
GoPro’s helmet- and body-mounted cameras are popular with surfers, skydivers and other adventure sports enthusiasts.
However, the recent advancements in video-shooting capabilities of smartphones, such as Apple Inc’s
The company forecast adjusted profit of between 35-45 cents per share on revenue of $500 million-$550 million.
Analysts had expected a profit of 82 cents per share on revenue of $690.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
“They had a bigger portfolio this year, more stores, and the fact that their guiding down so much year-on-year shows that there just isn’t the end demand for their product longer term,” Oppenheimer & Co analyst Andrew Uerkwitz said.
The company also reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit.
Net income rose to $18.8 million, or 13 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept 30 from net income of $14.6 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 43 percent to $400.3 million.
Excluding one-time items, it earned 25 cents per share.
Analysts expected earnings of 29 cents per share on revenue of $433.6 million.
Revenue from its Americas market, which accounted for nearly three quarters of its sales a year earlier, fell 7 percent to $190.8 million.
However, demand for its cameras globally was strong as revenue from its international market nearly tripled to about$210 million.
The company has benefited from its focus on Japan, South Korea and China, which, GoPro said, was the fastest growing market in its history.
GoPro shipped about 1.59 million units during the quarter, up from about $1.08 million units shipped a year earlier.
(Reporting by AlanJohn Koshy and Lehar Maan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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