Sonos reports loss for quarter but record annual revenue
Santa Barbara home audio company Sonos beat analysts’ expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings and also delivered record revenues for its 2021 fiscal year, but supply chain issues could spoil the first half of 2022, the company said.
Sonos reported a net loss of $8.7 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to results released Nov. 17. In the same quarter last year, the company had positive net income of $11.8 million.
The net loss could be attributed to a rise in operating expenses, as the company had $178 million in expenses in the fourth quarter this year, compared to $146.1 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Sonos did deliver non-GAAP net income of $11.8 million, or 8 cents per share, beating Zack’s Consensus Estimate, which projected a non-GAAP net loss of 11 cents per share.
Sonos shares closed at $33.07 on Nov. 18, down 0.1% from the previous day.
Revenue grew 6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, as Sonos generated $359.5 million compared to $339.8 million in the same quarter a year ago.
“Demand remained very strong through the fourth quarter, driven by the continued strength of our industry-leading products, and we delivered a record $360 million in revenue despite increased supply constraints that we, like so many others, have been facing,” CEO Patrick Spence said during the company’s Nov. 17 earnings call.
Though growth was strong in the fourth quarter, supply chain issues stemming from limitations on component supplies due to the global shortage of semiconductors hurt the company’s ability to meet demand, CFO Brittany Bagley said during the earnings call.
“We have been so short on some components that we have had manufacturing shutdowns, and these may continue to impact us into fiscal 2022,” she said. “We are anticipating that our first-quarter revenue could be lower than the first quarter last year. We expect to see improvements in the global supply chain in the back half of fiscal 2022 and are also continuing to work to mitigate the biggest impact of the shortages where we can.”
Sonos’ revenue for the full year were its highest ever, buoyed by the release of its portable speaker, Roam, which debuted April 20.
“Roam provides the opportunity for millions of new customers to get started with Sonos, and is the right product at the right time as we begin to gather again with friends and family,” Spence said.
Sonos does not release sales of specific products, but speaker sales were worth $273.5 million in the fourth quarter, compared to sales of $254.8 million in the same quarter last year.
For the full year, Sonos delivered revenue of $1.7 billion, up 29% growth from 2020.
Speaker sales contributed $1.3 billion in the 2021 fiscal year, compared to $1 billion last year.
Sonos system products sales also rose to $265.1 million, from $217.8 million last year.
Sonos closed its fiscal year with $158.1 million in net income, or $1.13 per share, an improvement over a net loss of $20 million in 2020.
Sonos also ended the year with products in 12.6 million homes, a 15% increase from the year prior, Spence said.
“Our record fiscal 2021 results put us significantly ahead of schedule towards achieving the fiscal 2024 targets outlined at our investor event this past March. Our brand is strong, we have an exciting and robust product roadmap ahead and are confident in our ability to continue to drive sustainable, profitable growth over the long-term,” Spence said.
Sonos expects revenue between $1.9 and $2 billion for fiscal year 2022.
Sonos also announced a share repurchase program of up to $150 million on Nov. 17. The company ended the year with $640.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.
