Raspberry Pi shares rally despite profit drop in first annual results since IPO
Raspberry Pi shares soared as the tech firm posted its hotly-anticipated annual results – the first since its IPO last year.
The FTSE 250 company recorded a 57 per cent fall in pre-tax profit to just $16.3m (£12.6m) in 2024, driven by inventory issues.
Despite this, shares rallied as much as 10 per cent in early trading before consolidating around three per cent.
The Cambridge-based business’ results were viewed as a vehicle to see the demand for new chips on the public market.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Low-cost computing specialist Raspberry Pi’s maiden full-year results as a public company are respectable enough.
“Crucially, while revenue and profit were both lower, the latter by a significant margin, the company made encouraging noises about the prospects for the current year – backed by the launch of several new products in the back end of 2024.”
The company’s revenue fell to $259.5m (£201m) – two per cent drop from the previous year.
Will Raspberry Pi trigger an IPO boom?
Commenting on the results, Raspberry Pi’s boss Eben Upton said: “The IPO in June 2024 has undoubtedly extended awareness of Raspberry Pi’s value proposition”.
Revenue shot up 61 per cent in the firm’s half year report, compared to the same period in 2023, as it benefited from “higher than usual” customer levels during its debut on the public market.
John Moore, senior investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “Raspberry Pi’s debut last year seemed a key point of sentiment for the IPO market and London listings, in part because it was a developing story.”
The company’s IPO raised £143.1m and was hoped to trigger a boom for tech listings.
Its listing provided a glimmer of hope amidst a dire backdrop for the London Stock Exchange, which suffered a total of 88 departures in 2024 including tech firm Darktrace.
Moore added: “Longer term, even though it may not be a familiar name to many people at the moment, Raspberry Pi has the potential to be the UK tech success story many market commentators have been looking for.”
Peel Hunt analysts raised the firm’s target share price to 565p from 439p, and said it revalues the business in a more “positive stance” amidst the growing microcontroller unit (MCU) market.
They added there was a “wide range of market growth forecasts out there for MCUs, with the majority being double-digits”.