Logitech International Posts Ninth StraightYear Of Record Sales, Profits

FREMONT, CALIF. — Logitech International reported a ninth consecutive year of record sales and profits.

Sales for the fiscal year, ended March 31, were $2.1 billion, up 15 percent from $1.8 billion in the previous fiscal year. Net income, including $14.9 million in costs for stock-based compensation, was $230 million.

For its fiscal fourth quarter, sales were $513 million, up 10 percent from $466 million in the same quarter last year. Net income, including $2.3 million in costs for stock-based compensation, was $56.2 million.

Logitech's retail sales for Q4 grew by 9 percent year-over-year, increasing in the Americas by 12 percent. Retail sales were driven by strong growth in cordless desktops and keyboards (up 30 percent), gaming (up 35 percent) and remote controls (up 78 percent); retail sales for Q4 were negatively impacted by a 32 percent year-over-year decline in Web cams.

Among the highlights for during the fiscal year that Logitech cited were: retail sales of cordless mice grew 25 percent, driven by demand for the Logitech MX Revolution and Logitech VX Revolution cordless laser mice; retail sales of iPod(R)/MP3 speakers more than doubled year-over-year; retail sales of Harmony remote controls increased by 60 percent compared with last year; and retail sales of PC gaming products increased by 63 percent compared with last year.

"As we continued to focus on improving our Web cam market position, an unexpected category slowdown led to a Q4 decline in webcam sales, which caused us to miss our 17 percent revenue growth target for the full fiscal year," said Guerrino De Luca, Logitech president/CEO. "We are confident that, over the next few quarters, we can reignite Web cam market growth by targeting our marketing activities toward growing the overall category. We plan to leverage partnerships to broaden consumer awareness and increase in-store activities."

He added. "Our gross margin for Q4 and for the full fiscal year was well above our long-term target range of 32-34 percent, reflecting strong execution and a solid business model."