Shares in Focusrite (TUNE:AIM) took a turn for the worse this week, at one point  falling 32% intraday as the professional music and audio products group downgraded 2024 full year sales and profit expectations.

The group said ‘challenging’ market conditions first highlighted at its AGM (annual general meeting) in January had continued to impact the company.

Sales for this year are now seen around £155 million against consensus forecasts of £182 million, implying a downgrade of 15%, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation) is seen between £27 million and £30 million compared with market estimates of £38 million, suggesting a 25% downgrade.

Earnings per share estimates had already been revised down by around 17% over the last year according to data provider Refinitiv.

Focusrite is not the only supplier suffering from post-pandemic blues as its customers battle with inflation, overstocking and fading interest in podcasts.

The biggest downturn in its business has been in content creation in China and Japan, and management is assuming no improvement in these regions for the remainder of 2024.

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