GoPro posted a huge net loss of $111,150,000 for the first quarter. It was even bigger than the huge loss of $107,459,000 of the year-ago period. Excluding restructuring costs and other extraordinary items, it was down to $62,783,000 from a loss of $86,740,000, and Nicholas Woodman, founder and chief executive, said the company remains on track to return to profitability for the full financial year.
Beating its previous guidance, sales advanced by 19.1 percent to $218.6 million in the quarter, with 60 percent of the turnover generated outside the U.S. While the share of the Americas declined sequentially, down to 44 percent, Europe's share remained steady at 31 percent and Asia-Pacific's share rose to 25 percent, driven by Japan.
The gross margin fell by 1.2 percentage points to 31.4 percent, but the operating loss eased down to $88.2 million from $121.4 million. The company shipped 738,000 units, down from 1,342,000 in the year-ago period, with a drastic reduction in lower-priced items, but average selling prices were 13 percent higher than a year ago and 25 percent higher than in the previous quarter.
GoPro is making it easier for users to download the video contents from its cameras. It has established a new software development office in Bucharest.
The brand remains very strong. Quoting NPD research, GoPro noted that its products took the first three spots on a unit basis in the American digital image market, led by its Heros Black camera. Its Karma drone with the Heros camera was the best-selling drone priced over $1,000.
Also, a study commissioned by Google ranked GoPro as the sixth coolest brand among teenagers. The number of Instagram followers grew by 44 percent to 12.7 million during the quarter, driven by a 160 percent increase overseas.
