Logitech Has Lower Sales of iPad Accessories for Q2

A declining market for iPad shipments and a reduction in channel inventory ahead of new iPad launches contributed to a 19 percent falloff in sales in Logitech’s tablet and other accessories category in fiscal Q2, to $28 million, the company said in an earnings statement Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1oxuOYv). Unit shipments in the category, however, were up 15 percent, driven by protective cases for the iPad and keyboard cases for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, Logitech said. The tablets category is part of Logitech’s retail growth category, which grew 2 percent to $473 million for the quarter, driven by 10 percent growth in sales for PC gaming products in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and growth in portable Bluetooth speakers, which doubled over the year-ago quarter, the company said. The UE Boom portable speaker was the company’s biggest seller in Q2 across all categories, Logitech said, with sales jumping from $20 million to $49 million for the quarter. Harmony remote sales grew from $13 million to $19 million largely on growth of Harmony Ultimate Home, which includes a color touch-screen remote and hub to enable integration and control of up to 15 compatible home automation devices, the company said. Logitech sales slipped to $530 million in fiscal Q2, from $532 million in the year-ago quarter, while profit grew to $36 million, from $14 million, it said.