Keyboard maker Logitech raises forecast for first half of 2024 – One America News Network

(Reuters) – Logitech International on Tuesday raised its sales and profit forecast for the first half of fiscal 2024 in the first results since longtime CEO Bracken Durrell left the computer peripherals maker last month.

The maker of computer mice and keyboards said that its search for a successor is “progressing well” and that a further update will be given “when we have news to share”.

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Interim CEO Guy Gecht said the markets were “still challenging” for Logitech, which experienced a boom during the pandemic lockdown as people stocked up on its webcams and other work-at-home equipment.

Since then, lower business and consumer spending amid the economic downturn has weighed on results.

However, the Swiss-American company was slightly more upbeat on Tuesday, saying it now expects first-half sales of $1.875 billion to $1.975 billion, down from a previous forecast of $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion.

The company also expects to post non-GAAP operating income of $180 million to $220 million in the first six months of this fiscal year, down from its previous forecast of $160 million to $190 million.

In its first forecast for this business year, Logitech also projected full-year sales of $3.8 billion to $4 billion.

CFO Charles Boynton said Logitech had made “steady progress” in reducing inventory and operating costs in the three months to the end of June.

The current market downturn poses a challenge for Logitech, as it has yet to find a successor for Darrell, who resigned last month to become CEO of VF Corp, maker of Vans sneakers and The North Face apparel.

Darrell, who led Logitech for 10 years, was credited with the turnaround by bringing out new products faster and improving design.

(Reporting by John Revill in Zurich and Shivani Tann in Bangalore; Editing by Subranshu Sahu and Varun HK)