iRobot issues revenue guidance
iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) issued revenue guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year above the consensus on Wall Street, but still saw shares slide due to the overall bearish sentiment plaguing the broader market.
For the fourth quarter of 2007, the robot maker said it expects revenues in the range of $98 million to $100 million and revenue for the full year 2007 in the range of $248 million to $250 million. Four analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average forecasting revenues of $90.93 million for the fourth quarter, while five analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average forecasting revenues of $239.63 million for the fiscal year.
The small cap expects GAAP earnings per share between $0.79 and $0.81 in the fourth quarter and between $0.33 and $0.35 for the full year, including the anticipated income tax valuation reversal. For the fourth quarter last year, the company recorded a loss of $0.08 and earnings of $0.14 for fiscal 2006.
Six analysts polled by Thomson Financial are on average projecting earnings of $0.07 per share, while seven analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are on average projecting earnings of $0.47 per share for the fiscal year.
The Burlington, Mass.-based company attributed its expectations to a successful holiday season for its new iRobot Roomba 500 Series robot. The company said its government and industrial robots business also contributed strongly to the quarter.
iRobot noted that there were two one-time events in the fourth quarter that impacted fourth-quarter and full-year profitability: an anticipated income tax valuation reversal of at least $8 million, and estimated litigation and settlement costs of approximately $1.6 million associated with the company’s resolution of a lawsuit against Robotics FX that announced last month.
iRobot will announce actual fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 financial results on Feb. 19.
Shares of iRobot (IRBT) edged down 0.51%, or $0.10, to $19.75 at 10:21 a.m. ET. Shares of iRobot have been trading in the range of $12.76 to $24.30 for the past 52 weeks.
