Peripheral Firm Logitech Reports Positive Q2

Officials from video game, PC, and audio peripheral manufacturer Logitech have revealed details of the company’s second quarter financial results, showing a somewhat spectacular twenty-eighth consecutive quarter of double digit sales growth. In the three months ended September 20th, the company saw sales rise 28 percent to $422 million and operating income rise by 29 percent to $38.2 million. The company also saw net income rise by 39 percent to $36.2 million ($0.37 per share). The only slight disappointment was that gross margin was down to 31.4 percent, from 33.2 percent at the same time last year. Retail sales were up 29 percent over 2004 though, driven by both audio peripherals and video and console game peripherals - the firm makes PSP speaker add-ons and cases, plus PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC controllers, wheels, headsets and microphones. In fact, sales of game-related products showed the biggest increase out of all sectors, increasing by 62 percent, and apparently led by peripherals for the new PSP portable, according to Logitech. The company also makes the 3Dconnexion motion controller series, a complex controller intended for use by 3D professionals. "As demand exceeded our expectations, this Q2 delivered our best year-over-year sales growth in more than three years," said Guerrino De Luca, Logitech president and CEO. "We are riding the wave of significant trends - the growing popularity of digital music, the pervasiveness of broadband connectivity, and the increasing role of the PC as an entertainment and communication platform." The company’s financial targets for the full year, ending March 31st 2006, are set at growth of 18 to 20 percent, compared to earlier targets of 15 percent.