SAN MATEO, Calif. (BRAIN) — GoPro on Thursday posted a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss on strong sell-through of its Hero5 Black and Hero6 Black action cameras. CEO Nicholas Woodman also said the company is poised for a robust second quarter as its new $199 entry-level Hero camera, launched on March 29, reaches major retailers.
"Initial demand for Hero is promising and we expect it to improve as large retail partners like Target and Walmart begin selling the product in the second quarter," Woodman said.
"Our first-quarter performance makes it clear that there is significant demand for GoPro, at the right price. We began to step up marketing programs in March which, coupled with overall expense controls, solid channel management and second-half new product launches, gives us confidence for a successful 2018 for GoPro," he added.
GoPro posted a loss of $76.3 million for the quarter, compared with $111.2 million a year earlier. Revenue totaled $202.3 million, down 7.4 percent from $218.6 million in the first quarter of 2017. Both figures outperformed analyst expectations.
In the U.S. during Q1, GoPro stated it held 86 percent and 95 percent of the action camera category by unit and dollar volume, respectively, according to data from The NPD Group.
"We obviously had a good quarter and are optimistic about our second quarter," Woodman said. "The reasons for our restored sell-through and momentum are simple. One, we removed Session (camera models) from our lineup and restored our proven Hero form factor, now with touch displays, to the $199, $299, $399 price points that GoPro's brand was built upon. Sell-through growth and market-share gains make it clear consumers love the Hero camera much more than Session, and they're loving it even more now that they've got touch displays and are priced well. We believe this bodes well for sell-through going forward. And second, we're increasing our global marketing efforts to capitalize on this consumer demand for our much-improved product lineup."
GoPro's shares, which have fallen more than 30 percent this year, rose about 10 percent in after-hours trading following the initial first-quarter earnings announcement.
