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Beyond Meat burgers in a New York supermarket (archive image)
Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
The US meat substitute manufacturer Beyond Meat, known for its vegan burgers, has unsettled investors with a weak business forecast.
The share fell on Wednesday after the hours of trading by almost 20 percent.
The company had previously issued a surprisingly cautious outlook for the final quarter and warned of possible sales difficulties.
According to company boss Ethan Brown, the delta variant of the corona virus has led to a weakening of demand in restaurants.
In addition, there is a shortage of staff in factories and shops, which affects sales.
A factory in Pennsylvania was cut off from the water supply for two weeks due to weather damage.
The growing number of competitors has also led to a loss of market share.
"I think all of these factors together make this an unusual quarter for us," Brown told investors.
However, he does not see any signs of a "fundamental change in consumer attitudes towards our product."
The company highlighted its international sales as positive, which, among other things, grew by 142 percent as a result of expansion in China.
In the three months to the end of September, Beyond Meat posted year-on-year sales growth of 13 percent to $ 106.4 million - the company is actually used to significantly stronger growth.
The bottom line was a loss of $ 54.8 million.
For the fourth quarter, the company predicts sales growth of 85 to 110 million dollars - analysts had expected a good 130 million dollars.
dab / dpa / AP
