SmileDirectClub (NSDQ:SDC) today posted fourth-quarter results that missed the consensus forecast on Wall Street.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based company reported losses of -$97.3 million, or -25¢ per share, on sales of $196.7 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2019, for a sales growth of 53.1% compared with Q4 2018.
Earnings per share were -25¢, 14¢ behind The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $199.9 million.
“As CEO of this business, I am faced with numerous decisions every day, and one difficult but important decision that I am making given our club member experience and profitability in Q4, is to control our growth in order to provide the best consumer experience, and reduce our costs to be adjusted EBITDA profitable by Q4 of 2020,” CEO David Katzman said in a news release.
“As we have stated, 2020 is a year of significant, albeit controlled, growth for SmileDirectClub. Our number one priority is to improve our club member experience. We will also increase our focus on the international infrastructure we have already unbuilt to best position our business for long-term global growth. Profitability will also be a big focus for us in 2020, and we understand the lever we have to pull to achieve profitability,” Katzman said.
SmileDirectClub reiterated its fiscal year 2020 guidance stating revenues are expected to be in the range of $1 billion to $1.1 billion for a 40% year-over-year growth.
Shares in SDC were down -28.2% to $8.14 apiece in mid-morning trading.