Beyond Meat (BYND) Q4 2022 earnings

Beyond Meat on Thursday reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter, despite its sales sinking more than 20%.

Shares of the company climbed 13% in after-hours trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Loss per share: $1.05 vs. $1.18 expected
• Revenue: $79.9 million vs. $75.7 million expected

For the fourth quarter, Beyond reported a net loss of $66.9 million, or $1.05 per share, narrower than a net loss of $80.4 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier. Net sales dropped 20.6% to $79.9 million.

Beyond said the total pounds of meat substitutes it sold fell 16.9% in the quarter. The company said demand for meat alternatives across “all channels” is still soft. In response, it’s offered its products at discounts to entice inflation-weary customers. Beyond’s net revenue per pound fell 4.4% in the quarter.

And the company is forecasting its sales will shrink further in 2023.

Beyond said it’s projecting its annual revenue for 2023 will range from $375 million to $415 million, representing a drop of 1% to 10% in sales. Wall Street was expecting that annual revenue would range from $322 million to $496 million.

Rather than growing sales, Beyond’s primary business goal is to become cash-flow positive in the second half of 2023. Its gross margins are expected to be in the low double-digits and increase sequentially throughout the year.