Following the release of its fourth quarter earnings Wednesday shares of DIY carbonation company SodaStream International initially picked up steam. By the opening bell, however, the stock was down more than 7% to a new all time low of $17.50.
SodaStream reported $126.5 million in fourth quarter revenue, down 25% from the same period a year earlier. The sales results are also somewhat below Wall Street's consensus estimate. The decrease in revenue was driven by lower demand in the U.S. during the holiday season as well as currency exchange headwinds.
The company reported $7.5 million in adjusted net income up from under $1 million in Q4 2013. Adjusted earnings per share were up from 3 cents to 35 cents almost double the Street's 18 cent estimate.
If you ignore the company's adjustments for $15.6 million in restructuring costs and look at the numbers reported using the International Financial Reporting Standards you see an $8.2 million loss or 39 cents per share. (SodaStream is an Israeli company so uses IFRS rather than the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP, used by U.S. based companies.)
For the full year the company reported $511.8 million in revenue, down 9% from 2013. Adjusted net income was down to $27.9 million and adjusted earnings per share to $1.31.
SodaStream is in the process of re-branding -- it used to describe itself as a "a leading manufacturer of home beverage carbonation systems" but now says it's "a leading manufacturer of sparkling water makers." The company's tagline is now, "Water made exciting." In a statement on the results CEO Daniel Birnbaum ignored his company's lackluster results, instead focusing on the future.
"During the fourth quarter we set a new course for the company that we believe positions SodaStream to take advantage of the rapidly transforming beverage industry," he said. "We are confident that repositioning the brand around health & wellness and launching a completely new portfolio of water enhanced flavors fits perfectly with the changing nature of consumer demands and will reaccelerate participation in our home carbonation system. As we announced, in conjunction with our growth plan, we have begun to reform our operational and organizational structure to better support our new strategy and drive improved efficiencies. While our actions will impact our near-term performance, we believe they will put us on stronger footing for delivering long-term profitable growth and increased shareholder value."
