GoPro posts $1.6b annual revenue, cuts staff by 7 percent

GoPro is expecting its annual revenue to be approximately $1.6 billion for the 2015 calendar year, a 16 percent year-on-year growth.

Despite the seven-figure amount, GoPro said sales for the fourth quarter were lower than anticipated and as a result the camera giant will be cutting 7 percent of its workforce.

"Over the past two years, GoPro's headcount has grown by more than 50 percent annually, to more than 1,500 employees at the end of 2015," the company said. "To better align resources to key growth initiatives, GoPro has implemented a reduction in its workforce of approximately 7 percent."

GoPro estimates that as a result of its "resource alignment", it will incur approximately $5 million to $10 million of restructuring expenses that will be accounted for in the first quarter of 2016.

For the three months ending December 31, GoPro expects revenue to be around the $435 million mark, which includes a $21 million reduction for price protection related charges as a result of the repricing of its Hero4 Session camera that occurred late last year.

Non-GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2015 is anticipated to be around 35 percent whilst non-GAAP operating expenses are estimated to be between $150 million and $152.5 million.

The Nasdaq-listed company also said that cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at December 31, 2015 totalled approximately $475 million.

"Fourth quarter revenue reflects lower than anticipated sales of its capture devices due to slower than expected sell through at retailers, particularly in the first half of the quarter," the company said.

GoPro also announced on Thursday the appointment of former senior vice president of GoPro Entertainment Zander Lurie to serve on the company's board of directors. Prior to his involvement with the camera maker, Lurie was CFO and head of Corporate Development at CBS Corporation, the corporate overlord of ZDNet.