Vizio in 'Close Contact' With Ports to Monitor Congestion: CFO

Vizio is staying in “close contact" with shippers and U.S. port authorities "to continuously assess the situation and our views are informed by the information they provide,” Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend told us Wednesday. We had asked when Vizio expects an easing of the ports congestion that impeded shipments of its smart TVs from reaching many of their distribution hubs in the first quarter. Vizio expects continued delays to “move some units out of the first half of the year and into the back half,” Townsend told investors May 11 (see report, May 12 issue). Vizio's Q1 smart TV shipments increased 28% year over year to 1.5 million sets despite ports disruptions.