360 Pano Dec 26th 5 degrees F at 9AM

[Jagerbomb52]

Parrot’s Chairman, CEO and leading shareholder, explains: “The end of this year is being complicated by a significant and unexpected contraction of the consumer drone market, which has occurred at the time of the launch of our new drone, the Parrot ANAFI.

While the technological performance and the positive reaction received by this product are in line with our expectations, and even though we have gained market share, in a harsh environment whilst preserving our pricing positioning and strategy, the market reversal has held back our revenue growth and impacted all our financial balances.

To adapt to the pace of this market, which is very unstable for the time being, our organization is evolving and our action plan was approved by the Board of Directors on November 22.

It aims primarily to secure our capacity for action to respond to the drone market’s potential over the long term. The possibilities offered by the Parrot ANAFI, the solidity of our commercial subsidiaries and our development on the Defense and Security market will be key assets to bounce back: with a decentralized and flexible strategy, we aim to break even on commercial drones by the end of 2019, while safeguarding the resources that will enable us to capitalize on opportunities for acceleration”.
The sky is not falling. Parrot has been around longer than DJI, and they are part of a large company. The Anafi is getting a lot of attention from Parrot. We've seen three code updates is the last couple of months, and at least three manual updates too. That's not the behavior of a company pulling out of the market.
Parrot is a solid company that will have warranty responsibilities to their customers for the next two years. The Anafi will see another season or two.

Parrot still also has one foot in the industrial/business drone market.

Much like Autel, Parrot has many things they work on.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

My random thoughts... My brother-in-law lives outside Paris, where Parrot is HQ’d. Big French corporations have well-compensated friends in high places. But few French mid-sized companies prosper in the international marketplace. Taxes in Paris (& France) are crushing, work rules are anti-competitive, costs of running a business, and business restrictions make extracting an (evil) profit very difficult. To compete, Parrot needs to move to survive IMHO...

I think Evo could use a few of Anafi’s features as competitive discriminators over DJI (ability to shoot straight up, has many commercial/inspection uses as well as for art). Anafi has (generally speaking spec-wise) a better sensor too, perhaps not exploited to it’s fullest potential to cut costs, but for it’s price point, impressive. An Anafi 2 would be really nice, if they have the resources to develop it. I think for Autel to survive, Evo 2 needs to arrive before 2019’s holiday season with a 1” sensor, Anafi-like lossless zoom, and a few new tricks since 1/2 of DJI’s line will be 1” by then... The general Evo design is fine.

Yuneec already has a solid commercial line. Will Autel make one to survive? An Evo Pro with a killer interchangeable camera could take some of that market due to its greater portability? It’s the payload & features that will be the discriminators vs The People’s Republic of DJI — and the ability to make money in the process.........

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Money is tight for anyone these days. For a company trying to make their mark it is hard for sure. Autel lucked out with having someone who new how to fine tune the camera on the EVO as they knew if it did not surpass everyones expectations they would be done. Even DJI teamed up with Hasselblad to get a good lens and from what is posted it sucks. Parrot unfortunately is not in the camera business so even having a better sensor then the EVO they need to step their game up. Don't think you will ever see Parrot pull out of France.....those French guys are pretty stubborn LOL

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Money is tight for anyone these days. For a company trying to make their mark it is hard for sure. Autel lucked out with having someone who new how to fine tune the camera on the EVO as they knew if it did not surpass everyones expectations they would be done. Even DJI teamed up with Hasselblad to get a good lens and from what is posted it sucks. Parrot unfortunately is not in the camera business so even having a better sensor then the EVO they need to step their game up. Don't think you will ever see Parrot pull out of France.....those French guys are pretty stubborn LOL

You must know my brother-in-law!! France has excellent engineering schools. Many grads leave France (nephews) so they can make decent money elsewhere.

Like you were saying, the ability to exploit a sensors MAX capability is almost a coding art form. Autel is good at it.

It’s common knowledge Nikon gets better performance from Sony sensors than Sony itself in their own cameras.

 

[YuKay]

We've seen three code updates is the last couple of months, and at least three manual updates too. That's not the behavior of a company pulling out of the market.

As I read it, they plan to upgrade the ANAFI and reposition it as a primarily commercial tool while they effectively abandon the consumer sector - at least until they see it pick up.

But if they don't find a way to generate cash, they may go under altogether. I invest in the stock market and I have read lots of quarterly and annual financial reports so I know what to look for and I understand how company chairmen choose their words in order to give shareholders hope. But I have to say that the Parrot Q3 report was one of the worst I have ever seen and it's littered with red flags. The repeated use of the "crisis" word tells me that their situation is serious and dangerous.

They talk of a "realignment to focus on commercial drone staff", which confirms their intention to exit the consumer market, at least temporarily.

Bad as their Q3 numbers were, they would have been a whole lot worse if they hadn't sold off their automotive business for €108m; and they forecast continuing losses until at least the end of 2019. If they can sell more assets they may survive - but there's a strong chance they won't. These numbers look like they are hurtling toward the abyss:


But last month their major shareholder announced a buyout bid which, if it goes through, might give them access to more cash as a private company. If the big institutional shareholders accept the offer, the company may survive - but they would have to take a painful haircut.

Nor am I sure how reliable their market share estimates are. They are taken from checkout data from physical retailers and exclude all internet sales. Thanks to its automotive history, Parrot has a greater presence in physical retailers than most of its rivals do so a significant chunk of the market - which probably favours other players - is ignored in its estimates.

All things considered, it has to be considered risky for consumers to buy the ANAFI with Parrot massively scaling down its consumer operations.

https://corporate.parrot.com/en/financialpublications/2018third-quarterbusinessandearnings

Edited Transcript of PARRO.PA earnings conference call or presentation 23-Nov-18 10:59am GMT

 

[Jagerbomb52]

As I read it, they plan to upgrade the ANAFI and reposition it as a primarily commercial tool while they effectively abandon the consumer sector - at least until they see it pick up.

But if they don't find a way to generate cash, they may go under altogether. I invest in the stock market and I have read lots of quarterly and annual financial reports so I know what to look for and I understand how company chairmen choose their words in order to give shareholders hope. But I have to say that the Parrot Q3 report was one of the worst I have ever seen and it's littered with red flags. The repeated use of the "crisis" word tells me that their situation is serious and dangerous.

They talk of a "realignment to focus on commercial drone staff", which confirms their intention to exit the consumer market, at least temporarily.

Bad as their Q3 numbers were, they would have been a whole lot worse if they hadn't sold off their automotive business for €108m; and they forecast continuing losses until at least the end of 2019. If they can sell more assets they may survive - but there's a strong chance they won't. These numbers look like they are hurtling toward the abyss:
View attachment 3189

But last month their major shareholder announced a buyout bid which, if it goes through, might give them access to more cash as a private company. If the big institutional shareholders accept the offer, the company may survive - but they would have to take a painful haircut.

Nor am I sure how reliable their market share estimates are. They are taken from checkout data from physical retailers and exclude all internet sales. Thanks to its automotive history, Parrot has a greater presence in physical retailers than most of its rivals do so a significant chunk of the market - which probably favours other players - is ignored in its estimates.

All things considered, it has to be considered risky for consumers to buy the ANAFI with Parrot massively scaling down its consumer operations.

https://corporate.parrot.com/en/financialpublications/2018third-quarterbusinessandearnings

Edited Transcript of PARRO.PA earnings conference call or presentation 23-Nov-18 10:59am GMT

You could very well be right. Hopefully they have a rabbit in a hat they can pull something out for 2019 and beyond but that big old monster DJI is hot on everyones tails. We need companies like Parrot, Autel and Yuneek to survive or this UAV stuff is not going to be the same. I see Parrot has closed up shop on their US website and are now using Bestbuy as their online store. No over head then I guess. Sad days for the UAV community when it comes down to just DJI.

 

[macoman]

I bought a bepop 2 power in the past and sold it two months later. I got it because I was testing the fpv water and saw in the bepop 2 power a good beginner drone for fpv. Because it include the goggles. The plastic material on the craft and controller is so cheaply made that it doesn't feel a $500 dollars drone. I sold it in eBay because I was having issues with the googles not fitting well on myself and also didn't like that is unable to check battery life status on the battery itself. I personally will never going to buy any parrot product again. The only positive thing that I find on the anafi and probably others drone makers could mimic is the camera that can go all over up. That's a nice feature.