Beyond Meat Inc has lowered its revenue forecast for the year and announced job cuts as rising inflation hurt the company's efforts to make its pricier plant-based meat more affordable for consumers.
Higher prices of plant-based meat have slowed the growth of the category with people trading down to lower-priced chicken and beef, Beyond Meat chief executive Ethan Brown said on an earnings call.
The second quarter saw sequential contraction in U.S. household penetration of plant-based meat for the first time in more than four years, Brown said, citing data from Numerator.
Revenue Expectations
Beyond Meat now expects 2022 revenue of $470 million (€459 million) to $520 million (€508 million), compared with its prior range of $560 million (€547 million) to $620 million (€607 million). Analysts were expecting revenue of $559.4 million, according to Refinitiv data.
"(The guidance cut) calls into question how long Beyond Meat's liquidity will last to fund their future growth. The pressures on the model are only intensifying," Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh said.
The company's cash and cash equivalents balance was $454.7 million (€444.5 million) at the end of the second quarter. Net cash used in operating activities was $235.7 million for the first half of the year.
Operating Expenses
Beyond Meat also said it would aim to reduce operating expenses, after its loss of $1.53 per share for the second quarter was much wider than analysts' expectations of $1.18.
To record nearly $8 million in annualised savings, Beyond Meat said it would cut roughly 4% of its global workforce. It had 1,108 full-time employees and 311 full-time contract workers, as of 2021 end.
Net revenue also declined 1.6% to $147 million (€143.7 million) for the second quarter, missing estimates of $149.2 million, as it had to lower prices in parts of Europe to clear excess stock.
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