(Reuters) – Beyond Meat forecast annual revenue below estimates on Wednesday, as the faux meat products maker faces persistent demand weakness amid sticky inflation.
Beyond Meat has been losing steam it garnered a couple of years ago as consumers began shifting to fresh and lower-priced animal meat alternatives over its processed vegan meat.
Its total volume of products sold in the quarter fell 2.1%, compared with an 8% rise a year earlier.
Shares of the company were down about 2% in extended trading.
The company also said it would be suspending operational activities in China and lay off about 20 employees, representing 3% of global workforce.
The vegan burger patty maker also said its board has approved its plan to cut some jobs in North America and the European Union, which would represent about 17% of its global non-production workforce or roughly 6% of overall global workforce.
The company targets a positive run-rate in its core profit by the end of 2026 and is implementing organizational changes and cost-reduction measures to strengthen its financial profile and support its long-term objectives.
Despite taking consecutive price hikes and lowering discount, the company’s margins came under pressure from higher logistics costs.
Its margin was 13.1% in the quarter ended December 31, from 17.7% in the third quarter.
It posted net loss of 65 cents per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of loss of 43 cents as per data compiled by LSEG.
For fiscal 2025, the company expects net revenue in the range of $320 million to $335 million, compared with analysts’ estimates of $337.6 million.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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