Swiss electronics and computer peripherals maker Logitech on Thursday announced a drop in annual net profit but predicted that growing demand for "digital home" products would double its operating income.
Logitech said the rebound was evident in fourth quarter results for its 2009/2010 business year until March 31, with sales growth of more than a quarter.
"After a challenging start to the year, we ended Fiscal Year 2010 with very strong sales and gross margin performance," said Logitech chief executive Gerald Quindlen in a statement.
"Most notably, we see continued strong double-digit sales growth in the digital home," he added, pointing to the growth of its television remote controls and a video communications division.
Logitech said it was lining up new peripherals for Apple's iPad tablet this year as well as new video products.
Annual net profit for 2009/2010 reached 65 million dollars (49 million euros) against 107 million dollars the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, Logitech recovered from a loss a year earlier to a 24.5 million dollar profit while sales reached 525.4 million dollars, an increase of 29 percent.
Logitech is targeting sales of about 2.3 billion dollars for the coming financial year, against 2.0 billion in 2009/2010 and "expects operating income to approximately double year over year."
"We're back on the road to growth. It'll take a certain amount of time but we're on the right path," Quindlen told AFP.
Quindlen said electronics prices had stabilised this year while consumers were gradually recovering confidence.
Logitech specialised in peripherals such as innovative computer mouses when it was founded in 1981, with plants in Europe, Asia and California.
(c) 2010 AFP
