Beyond Meat has lowered its revenue forecast for 2022 and announced job cuts, as consumers reportedly trade down to cheaper proteins.

The company’s net revenue for Q2 declined 1.6% to $147 million, missing analysts’ estimates which projected $149.2 million in sales, according to Refinitiv data, cited by Reuters.

An around 14.2% decrease in net revenue per pound was primarily responsible for the weak second-quarter sales, with list price reductions in European markets hurting the plant-based meat giant’s international retail performance. Meanwhile, US retail channel net revenues increased 2.2%, driven by sales of Beyond Meat Jerky.

In the company’s second-quarter earnings report, Beyond Meat president and CEO, Ethan Brown, said: “In Q2 2022, we recorded our second largest quarter ever in terms of net revenues, even as consumers traded down among proteins in the context of inflationary pressures, and we made solid sequential progress on reducing operating and manufacturing conversion costs”.

Plant-based meat prices have slowed the category’s growth with consumers trading down to lower-priced chicken and beef, Brown said on a separate call, cited by Reuters.

Beyond Meat announced it will cut approximately 4% of its global workforce in a move it expects will result in annualised savings of around $8 million.

The California-based company also reported a wider-than-expected loss of $1.53 per share for the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Beyond Meat lowered its outlook for full-year net revenue, and says it now expects growth in the region of 1-12%, compared with its previous forecast of 21-33% growth.

“Across the balance of the year, we are tightly focused on intensifying OPEX [operating expense] and manufacturing cost reductions, executing against a series of planned market activities for our global strategic partners, and strengthening our retail business through core support and the introduction of one of our best innovations to date,” Brown said in the company’s earnings report.

He continued: “With the recent, dramatic decline in consumer buying power, the importance of delivering on our price parity targets is magnified. We take note of this powerful reminder, and continue to advance as well as broaden cost reduction activities in service to realising price parity.”

#BeyondMeat #financialresults