Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Parametric Sound Corp (NASDAQ: PAMT) rose 13% Friday after the audio device company provided updates following the closing of its merger with Turtle Beach.
So what: The merger closed on Jan. 15, 2014, and Parametric says both companies' teams are now fully integrated. In addition, by May, the combined company will change its official corporate name to Turtle Beach Corporation, and its ticker symbol to HEAR. Parametric also pointed out it was first-to-market with three Xbox One compatible headsets at retail stores on March 6, including a licensed model for Microsoft's March 11 release of Titanfall.
Paramount also announced it has received U.S. FDA clearance to market a product incorporating its HyperSound Audio System as a hearing-improvement device, and that a first product for hearing-impaired consumers is anticipated for a 2015 launch.
For 2014, Parmetric expects revenue from Turtle Beach headsets to be responsible for sales of $210 million to $230 million, while early stage HyperSound products should result in sales of roughly $1 million to $4 million. Curiously enough, analysts were modeling 2014 sales of $243 million.
Finally, after investing roughly $10 million in HyperSound this year to capitalize on its market opportunities, Parametric sees 2014 adjusted EBITDA arriving in the range of $20 to $25 million. Taking the midpoint of that range would result in an increase of 140% over the pro forma combined company's adjusted EBITDA for 2013.
Now what: Elaborating on what Parametric's press release described as a "multi-year trend," CEO Juergen Stark weighed in: "We believe 2014 represents the initial stage of the post console transition rebound for the gaming industry and Turtle Beach. The recent launch of our Xbox One compatible headset is another step toward returning our business to a more normalized run rate."
With shares still down 33% during the past year, I can't blame investors for bidding up the stock today given Parametric's pending market rebound and new growth opportunity with HyperSound. Even so, I'm still not particularly intrigued as a long-term investor given the relatively narrow scope of Parametric's current business. For now, I'm happy putting the company on my watchlist to keep tabs on its progress, especially with regard to HyperSound's potential applications down the road.
