As communicated by iRobot, the company has experienced stronger-than-expected orders during the second quarter. iRobot anticipates second-quarter 2020 revenue between $260 million and $270 million versus prior expectations for Q2 revenue to be down modestly from first-quarter 2020 revenue of $193 million. The expected performance reflects robust order growth for premium products, namely the Roomba i7 Series and s9 Series, and Braava jet m Series. Geographically, quarterly U.S. revenue is anticipated to grow in the mid-single digit range on a percentage basis over last year’s second quarter. International revenue for the second quarter is expected to decline modestly as solid growth in Japan is likely to be more than offset by softness in Europe. “Our anticipated second-quarter 2020 financial performance will be substantially better than we originally expected – stated Colin Angle, iRobot’s chairman and chief executive officer -. We have experienced strong demand thus far into the second quarter, particularly in the U.S., with solid growth in our premium products. Maintaining a clean home has become a higher priority for many consumers as Covid-19 has forced people to spend more time in their homes. Our floor cleaning robots have become true partners to millions of customers around the globe, enabling them to keep their homes tidy while freeing them to focus on other priorities, which may now include working from home, childcare and home schooling”. “The healthy U.S. sell-through dynamics that we’ve observed, combined with the steps we’ve taken to manage costs, further reinforce our view that our second-half 2020 performance will show meaningful improvement over first-half levels – he added -. We move forward with improved business momentum although there is still considerable uncertainty about the prospects for an economic recovery in different parts of the world, which continues to limit our visibility into the timing and magnitude of future orders. Given these dynamics, we continue to expect lower 2020 annual revenue versus the prior year. We expect to share additional insight into our anticipated full-year 2020 financial performance when we report our second-quarter results in late July”.
