Raspberry Pi: Shares lift as profits surpass industry forecasts
Raspberry Pi has revealed its profits tumbled by more-than-half in its first year as a publicly listed company after it was impacted by supply issues.
But the microcomputer business saw shares lift in early trading as profits still surpassed industry forecasts.
The Cambridge-based business told shareholders that pre-tax profits dropped by 57% to $16.3m (£12.6 million) in 2024, compared with the previous year.
Meanwhile, it posted adjusted earnings of $37.2m (£28.8 million), ahead of the $36.6m (£28.3 million) predicted by analysts.
The company added that sales were down 2% to $259.5m (£201 million) for the year.
It said this came after sales in the second and third quarters of the year were weaker due to lower levels of inventory in the wake of soaring demand following the pandemic.
Raspberry Pi said it had now “completed” its recovery from pandemic-related shortages and expected a steady build-up of demand to continue this year.
The company was behind one of last year’s biggest stock market floats in London, when it raised £178.9 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
In September, it was admitted to the FTSE 250 index of firms.
Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi said: "The IPO in June 2024 has undoubtedly extended awareness of Raspberry Pi's value proposition from the engineering department to the C-suite at major OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).
"As our platforms and solutions evolve, we aspire to become the compute partner of choice for these companies, allowing them to outsource the intelligence element at the heart of their products while retaining control of application-specific design and engineering, delivering enhanced performance, functionality and efficiency in their end product.
“In the second half we released more products than in any prior full year, despite the potential distraction of the IPO, continuing to excite our enthusiast and embedded communities.
"That flexibility helped us to meet market expectations in a year dominated by the widely reported inventory correction throughout our industry and following an exceptionally strong comparable previous financial year.
"I am confident that we will continue to see gradual improvements in end-demand during the current year and increased traction with direct-to-OEM engagement, effectively complementing our reseller and licensee channels.”
"This has been a transformative year for Raspberry Pi. The one constant has been the unwavering dedication of our outstanding team, for which I am profoundly grateful."
Shares in the company were 5.6% higher in early trading.