Stock sinks 17% in after-hours trade
By Matt Andrejczak, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters fell 17% in after-hours trade Thursday after the company issued a softer profit forecast and pulled shipment guidance for its K-Cup coffee packs.
The stock sank to $30.86 in late trading, continuing a roller-coaster ride for the shares ever since Green Mountain’s accounting practices caught the eye of regulators.
Rapid expansion appears to be coming at a cost for Green Mountain (NASDAQ:GMCR) , which ranked No. 2 on Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 fastest-growing companies this year.
GMCR 37.42, +0.13, +0.35%
For its fiscal 2011 September year, Green Mountain said profit could be as low as $1.19 a share, excluding charges, compared to its old forecast for a profit between $1.24 a share to $1.29 a share.
Green Mountain told investors “not to rely on” its July 28 forecast for K-Cup shipments to rise 64% to 68% in fiscal 2011. Furthermore, the company said it will no longer provide shipment forecasts for its K-Cups or Keurig single-cup coffee brewing machines.
Still, the fast-growing Vermont-based company said it’s investing in packaging and production lines to keep up with demand for K-Cups. Green Mountain, which has been heavily advertising its Keurig brewers as a winter holiday gift, said it expects K-Cup sales to increase in 2011.
For the quarter ended Sept. 25, Green Mountain said its profit nearly doubled to $27 million, or 20 cents a share, up from $14.1 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales surged 73% to $373 million.
Gross margin was 30.4% in the latest quarter, down from 31.9% in last year’s period.
Green Mountain said its profit margin was undercut by a growing number of customers returning the Keurig brewing machines and an increase in the warranty expenses for the brewers.
The company said it was having to pay more for green coffee, which has been trading at 13-year highs in the commodity-futures market. In October, Green Mountain began to roll out price increases for its K-Cups.
Green Mountain had delayed reporting results to conclude an internal accounting inquiry. The company trimmed its profit for recent fiscal years in a financial restatement a few weeks ago. Its accounting practices remain under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In its 10-K filed with the SEC Thursday, Green Mountain said it was unclear what regulators would find and warned they might have to again restate their earnings and face higher legal costs as a result. |
发表于 2010-12-9 22:29
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