TomTom Q3 sales lower than expected; raises FY outlook UPDATE

TomTom Q3 sales lower than expected; raises FY outlook UPDATE

	Published : Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:30 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Adds US market share details, further operational details)

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - TomTom NV's third-quarter earnings came in mixed, with some bottom line figures exceeding analyst expectations while sales lagged, but the personal navigation device maker raised its full-year sales outlook.

Sales were 427 mln eur, up from 380 mln a quarter earlier but below analyst expectations of 437.1-465.9 mln eur. The average selling price (ASP) was 184 eur, lower than the 187-193 eur seen by analysts.

Net profit was 99 mln eur, up from 68 mln in the second quarter and higher than the 80.5-92.2 mln eur, while operating profit was 133 mln eur, from 93.4 mln but besting analyst estimates of 108.8-123.6 mln eur.

TomTom raised its full-year sales outlook to 1.7-1.8 bln eur, up from a previous 1.6-1.8 bln, and said that it expects to sell 15-16 mln units, up from 14-15 mln.

The company expects to achieve a market share of at least 30 pct in the US in the fourth quarter, chief executive officer Harrold Goddijn said during a press conference on the earnings.

'During the third quarter we reached a market share of approximately 21 to 22 pct in the US. In the past weeks we have seen that go up to about 27, so we anticipate that we will be able to reach the 30 pct mark this quarter.'

Although TomTom expects strong sales in the fourth quarter in terms of volumes, Mr Goddijn refused to give guidance on the average selling price in the fourth quarter other than to say that low-end units are expected to be a 'large part' of the sales mix.

TomTom did not provide any update on its proposed takeover of Tele Atlas.

By Kaj Leers, kaj.leers@thomson.com

kel/slj/kel/slj

The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.