iRobot ( NASDAQ: IRBT ) reported a 21% drop in Q4 . The lighter year-over-year revenue tally was primarily due to lower orders from retailers and distributors in North America and EMEA.
During the quarter, iRonot's ( IRBT ) community of connected customers who have opted-in to its digital communications grew 26% year-over-year to 17.6M.
An operating loss of $61.6M reflected the impact of lower revenue and a lower gross profit margin primarily attributable to increased promotional activities.
On the balance sheet, iRobot ended the quarter with cash position of $117.9M vs. $89.6M at the end of Q3. During the quarter, the company repaid its total outstanding borrowings of $90.0M on its credit facility. Inventory was at $285M at the end of the quarter vs. $419M at the end of Q3. The sequential decrease in inventory primarily reflected the use of on-hand inventory to fulfill orders and a significant decrease in in-transit inventory
Looking ahead, iRobot ( IRBT ) plans to continue using its on-hand inventory to fulfill what it said will be relatively muted orders during Q1 due in part to the shifting of certain orders into Q2. Due to those factors, iRobot has temporarily reduced robot production at its contract manufacturing partners in China and Malaysia with plans to increase production again in April. The company is slashing its workforce by about 85 jobs or 7% of total workers. Due to the Amazon transaction, iRobot did not issue any formal guidance.
Short interest on iRobot ( IRBT ) is at 18.36% of shares outstanding.
iRobot ( IRBT ) traded flat at $41.50 after the earnings report. The consumer products stock is well below the $61 offer price from Amazon as part of the e-commerce giant's acquisition bid.
For further details see:
iRobot cuts workforce by 7% with 'muted' order level expected in Q1