Logitech (
www.logitech.com), marktleider op het gebied van computerrandapparatuur (muizen, toetsenborden, webcams, speakers etc..), heeft vandaag haar jaarcijfers bekend gemaakt over de periode april 2003- maart 2004 (Logitech's FY 2004). Ondanks de wereldwijde slechte economie, overtreffen de resultaten Logitech's doelstellingen en verwachtingen; voor het zesde achtereenvolgende jaar behaalde Logitech recordcijfers. Enkele
feiten:
Q4 FY 2004
· Revenue $347 million, up 15%
· Operating income $44.9 million, up 29%
· Net income $38.5 million, up 44%
· Earnings per share $0.78, up from $0.54
Fiscal Year 2004
· Revenue $1.268 billion, up 15%
· Operating income $146 million, up 17%
· Net income $132 million, up 34%
· Earnings per share $2.69, up from $1.97
De Nederlanders Marcel Stolk, Vice President Logitech en Robert v/d Vegte, General Manager Benelux zijn beide beschikbaar voor een toelichting op de cijfers. In het onderstaande persbericht (ook attached als Word document) vindt u meer informatie. Voor vragen kunt u terecht bij mij of Luuk Peters (lpeters@bvdspr.nl).
Logitech Closes Record Q4, Delivers Sixth Consecutive Record Year, Exceeds Goals
Q4 FY 2004
· Revenue $347 million, up 15%
· Operating income $44.9 million, up 29%
· Net income $38.5 million, up 44%
· Earnings per share $0.78, up from $0.54
Fiscal Year 2004
· Revenue $1.268 billion, up 15%
· Operating income $146 million, up 17%
· Net income $132 million, up 34%
· Earnings per share $2.69, up from $1.97
ROMANEL-SUR-MORGES, Switzerland, April 15, 2004, and FREMONT, Calif., April 14, 2004— Logitech International (SWX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) today reported its sixth consecutive year of record sales and profitability, finishing with the best fourth-quarter performance in the Company’s history. For Logitech’s fourth fiscal quarter, ended March 31, 2004, sales were $347 million, up 15 percent from $302 million for the same quarter one year ago.
Gross margin was 33.2 percent, up from 31.6 percent last year, representing a year-over-year improvement of 166 basis points. Operating income was
$44.9 million, up 29 percent from $34.8 million last year. Net income for the quarter was $38.5 million ($0.78 per share), up 44 percent from $26.6 million ($0.54 per share) in the prior year. For the full fiscal year, Logitech’s sales were a record $1.268 billion, up 15 percent from $1.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2003. Gross margin for FY 2004 was 32.2 percent, compared with 33.1 percent last year. Operating income was $146 million, an increase of 17 percent over $124 million the prior year. Net income was $132 million ($2.69 per share), up 34 percent from $99 million ($1.97 per
share) one year ago.
Logitech’s OEM sales were up 17 percent for the quarter, and 32 percent for the full fiscal year. Logitech’s strong OEM revenue growth was primarily due to sales to Sony of the EyeToy™ camera and USB Headset for the PlayStation®2. OEM console sales grew by 58 percent over the same quarter last year and by 193 percent over last year. Complementing the strong console-gaming sales to OEMs, Logitech’s sales of mice to OEMs were also up 15 percent for the fourth quarter and 16 percent for the full fiscal year.
Logitech’s retail sales were up 15 percent for the quarter, and 12 percent for the entire fiscal year. During the quarter, the Company experienced robust retail sales growth in webcams, PC Headsets and PC gaming peripherals. Compared with the same quarter a year ago, sales of webcams grew by 93 percent and unit shipments of webcams grew by 73 percent. Sales of PC Headsets for the quarter grew by 41 percent year over year. And PC gaming sales for Q4 grew by 89 percent when compared to the same quarter last year.
“This has been a remarkable year for Logitech,” said Guerrino De Luca, Logitech’s president and chief executive officer. “We gained momentum throughout our business, delivering record-breaking results that exceeded our targets for growth in sales and operating income. The Logitech brand was strengthened by the introduction of innovative new products and the marketing initiatives that were conducted in each of our regions. And I could not be more proud of the improvements made in operating efficiencies and product costs, and the fighting spirit of the Logitech employees.”
Highlights for Logitech’s Fiscal Year 2004 include:
- The Company posted its highest full-year operating margin and net margin of 11.5 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.
- Cash flow from operations was $166 million.
- Logitech introduced more than 100 new products.
- The Company sold 47 million Logitech-branded products.
- Webcam retail sales were up by 46 percent from last year and unit shipments grew by 40 percent, driven by continued growth in the use of video instant messaging, an application that Logitech championed and continues to drive.
- Retail sales of Logitech-branded speakers were up by 53 percent from last year and unit shipments grew by 62 percent.
- Sales of console gaming products, both retail and OEM combined, grew by 144 percent in FY 04, and unit shipments grew by 193 percent.
- During the fiscal year, Logitech reached the milestone of more than 500 million mice sold.
- Logitech introduced its most powerful mouse ever – the Logitech® MX™510 Performance Optical Mouse, which captures up to 5.8 megapixels of surface detail per second.
- Logitech introduced the award-winning diNovo™ Media Desktop™, a
high-style product that redefines the concept of a wireless keyboard and mouse with an innovative new design and with delivery on the promise of Bluetooth® technology to provide wireless interoperability between a PC and mobile phones, PDAs and other devices.
“Logitech enters the new fiscal year positioned for success,” continued Mr.
De Luca. “In the past several weeks, we introduced new affordable products intended to stimulate and respond to accelerating adoption of cordless peripherals by mainstream computer users. We began marketing a range of new corded mice, targeted at fast-growing and profitable market segments, such as precision gamers, notebook users and price-conscious desktop users. And we unveiled a video calling application that provides a new option for using Logitech webcams to integrate video into personal and professional communications. Off to a great start, we expect FY 2005 to bring the introduction of even more innovative products across our product lines, as we accelerate our investments in marketing, product development and infrastructure to fuel our growth.” For the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2005, Logitech expects year-over-year sales to grow by 10 percent and operating income to grow by 15 percent.
Logitech will hold an investor and analyst meeting in Zurich on April 15, 2004 at 10:00 Central European Daylight Time/4:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time/1:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time to discuss financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year, as well as guidance regarding financial performance for Fiscal Year 2005, ending March 31, 2005. A live video webcast and replay of the meeting will be available on the Logitech corporate Web site, www.logitech.com. Logitech will also hold an earnings teleconference on April 15, 2004 at 16:00 Central European Daylight Time/10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time/7:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time to discuss these results as well as guidance for Fiscal Year 2005. A live webcast and replay of the teleconference will be available on the Logitech corporate Web site at www.logitech.com.
About Logitech
Founded in 1981, Logitech designs, manufactures and markets personal interface products that enable people to effectively work, play, and communicate in the digital world. With corporate headquarters through its U.S. subsidiary in Fremont, California, and regional headquarters through local subsidiaries in Switzerland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange (LOGN) and in the U.S. on the Nasdaq National Market System (LOGI). The company has manufacturing facilities in Asia and offices in major cities in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements, including the statements regarding Logitech’s expected sales and operating income growth for Fiscal Year 2005 and of its position for success. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Logitech’s actual performance to differ materially from that anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the timing of new product introductions by Logitech and its competitors and their acceptance by the market, the sales mix of our higher and lower margin retail and OEM products, our ability to match production to demand and to coordinate the worldwide manufacturing and distribution of our products in a timely and cost-effective manner, general economic and political conditions, the effect of fluctuations in exchange rates, as well as generally those additional factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, and subsequent filings, available from the SEC’s Edgar database at www.sec.gov and upon request from Logitech by calling (510) 713-4220.
Logitech does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.
Logitech, the Logitech logo and other Logitech marks are owned by Logitech and may be registered. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the Company’s Web site at www.logitech.com.