Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) has told investors it is poised to achieve significant year-over-year revenue growth for 2022 as the adoption of its smart glasses continues to grow.
Reporting results for the fourth quarter and full year to end December, the tech group said sales of the glasses rose 27% in 2021 compared to the previous year, leading to total revenue of US$13.2 million, up 14% on 2020.
The performance was not emulated in the fourth quarter, however, as sales of the glasses and engineering services fell, leading to group revenue of US$3.3 million, down from US$4.2 million in the year-earlier period.
"We expect the adoption acceleration we began to see in 2021 to lead to larger orders coming from repeat and, in some cases very large, customers to support significant deployments in terms of units and dollar value. This developing trend, although highly encouraging, was not broad-based last year, as many customers continued to delay orders due to COVID-19 operational business issues," explained Paul Travers, Vuzix CEO in a statement.
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But the company boss added that in 2022, businesses across the globe were starting to normalize and that Vuzix was "well-positioned to achieve significant year-over-year revenue growth in 2022 driven primarily by this accelerating smart glasses demand, but also by several opportunities within our OEM business group".
In the 12 months to December 31, research and development (R&D expenses came in at US$11.7 million versus US$7.6 million in 2020, an increase of 54% largely due to a $2.5 million increase in salary and expenses related to salary benefits.
The net loss was US$40.4 million compared to a net loss of US$18.0 million for full year 2020.
For the fourth quarter, Vuzix posted a net loss of US$17 million, compared to a loss of US$3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Over 2021, the firm's smart glasses revenue growth came from across healthcare, industry 4.0 and the logistics and supply chain verticals, the group noted.
It also saw an "expanding global awareness of what the Metaverse is and what it can bring to enterprise productivity", it said, which can only help to accelerate the future adoption of its technology.
Also in the statement, Vuzix unveiled plans for a potential buy-back of stock over the next 12 months.
"While we will continue to invest in our staff, core technology, and infrastructure in 2022, we recognize and believe that the market is significantly undervaluing Vuzix as a disruptive technology company that is focused on AR technologies and products for the enterprise and broader markets," said Travers.
"The Vuzix board of directors agrees with this assessment and consequently has requested management to investigate up to a $25 million share buyback program over the next 12 months," he said.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com