Beyond Meat expects sales to more than double this year
Momentum around Beyond Meat’s successful IPO in May is continuing as demand grows for plant-based alternatives.
Beyond Meat Inc, a maker of plant-based burgers and sausages based in the United States, said it expects to more than double its revenue this year, sending its shares surging.
Its first results since becoming a public company beat Wall Street’s expectations.
The company’s stock price jumped more than 21 percent on the news that it expects revenues of $210m in 2019, higher-than-average forecast by analysts of more than $205m based on figures from financial data firm Refinitiv.
Beyond Meat’s shares are around 300 percent above their $25 initial public offer price when the company went public in May. It’s now valued at around $5.7bn.
It has captured a wide audience for its imitation meat patties and sausages made from ingredients like pea protein, coconut and canola oil.
The burgers are a hit with consumers switching to a “flexitarian” diet. Beyond Meat’s sales have increased five-fold since it began selling its flagship Beyond Burger in 2016.
“We are very conservative and view this as a floor,” Chief Executive Officer Ethan Brown said on a conference call when asked about the revenue forecast. The company does not count customers who are using its products as part of a testing project.
“As we are entering into additional test and distribution channels and take on new customers, those will be additive to our numbers,” Brown said.
The company is also working on making its plant-based products cheaper than animal protein to capture more market share.
Beyond Meat, whose rivals include US-based Impossible Foods, is likely to face increasing competition in the niche market as companies like Nestle and Tyson Foods prepare their own line of products.
“Beyond Meat, right now, does have the first-mover advantage,” said Megan Brantley, vice president of research at LikeFolio.
The California-based company said net loss widened to $6.6m in the three months of this year that ended on March 30, from $5.7m a year earlier.
First-quarter net revenue came in at $40.2m, an increase of 215 percent, the company said. Analysts had expected revenue of $38.9m.
“Beyond Meat is in a business that could be absolutely incredible,” John Gillin, an analyst with Stansberry Research, said.