The market has turned down the volume on the Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) share price after the business provided a first-quarter trading update.
After initially falling nearly 12%, shares have recovered to be down 6.43% to $9.17.
Record quarter, big backlog
The business generated record revenue of US$7.6 million for the first quarter of FY22 (1 July to 30 September). The result is a 46% improvement on the prior year’s number and a 10% improvement on the previous quarter.
Sales were contained by factory closures in both Malaysia and China limiting further growth.
Underlying demand remains high, with a backlog of chips, cards and modules amounting to US$14.8 million.
For comparison, the business experienced a backlog of about US$2.5 million pre-pandemic.
Global chip crunch
Despite the record quarter, the market has not looked kindly upon Audinate’s future outlook.
The global chip crunch is having an outsized impact on Audinate.
“An important supplier has informed Audinate of an unexpected and sudden reduction in the supply of a silicon chip used primarily in the Brooklyn II, Broadway and Dante video products”
Surging demand for silicon chips has led to a squeeze in supply. Subsequently, the supplier can no longer guarantee the delivery of orders for Audinate or other customers.
The shortage impacts orders placed by Audinate all the way back to the January of this year.
“This component shortage constrains our ability to supply products that have historically delivered approximately 43% of Audinate’s revenue”
In response, the business will fast forward its next-generation Brooklyn product to Q4 FY22.
At current inventory levels, existing chips will be exhausted by the second half of FY22. The business will work with customers to complete redesigns and transition to alternative Dante products.
Guidance dropped
As a result of chip constraints, the business expects to deliver FY22 growth however not at pre-pandemic levels.
Audinate will provide regular updates given the ongoing uncertainty.
My take
Audinate has a big supply problem that is largely out of its control.
The market won’t like the uncertainty. Given its rich valuation, the Audinate share price could come under pressure.
The chip shortage will have second order impacts on the likes of JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR),
However redesign work will benefit design software giant Altium Limited (ASX: ALU).
Taking a longer-term view, Audinate is still the dominant player in audio networking.
The business remains on my watchlist. If the share price falls further, I may look to initiate a position.
