Logitech Sales Get COVID-19 Jump; Uncertainty Ahead

Logitech rode the COVID-19 stay-at-home wave in fiscal Q1 ended June 30, posting a 25% year-on-year sales hike to $792 million, it said Monday. Sales of video conferencing equipment soared 70% to $130 million; webcam revenue jumped 116% to $60.9 million. It's adding capacity to meet demand for webcams to overcome component shortages resulting from factory shutdowns in Asia, said CEO Bracken Darrell on a call (see that and other materials here). The company expects current quarter supply to improve, though Darrell expects the “underlying market tailwind to continue for some time.” Logitech raised its fiscal 2021 outlook from mid-single digits to 10%-13%, but Darrell said: “COVID shutdowns and a related economic slowdown will likely create uncertainty in the quarters, and perhaps even the year to come." Among trends the CEO cited are video calls replacing audio calls, esports that will “become bigger than conventional sports, and the “billions” creating content as movie theaters and live entertainment venues are closed. Some trends were underway, said Darrell, citing work-at-home Fridays, the popularity of esports and creators posting online in “democratization” of content. “Video everywhere” seemed like a long way off when Logitech identified it as a company direction several years ago, he said: “Because of COVID-19, video calls now, for most people, have simply exploded.” Trends will continue post-pandemic, he maintained, citing Siemens saying last week it will let its 140,000 employees “work from anywhere” two or three days a week.