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Logitech to discontinue console peripherals to focus on mobile

Following the loss of $180 million last quarter.

Gaming peripheral manufacturer Logitech is shuttering its development of console accessories in favour of mobile and PC doodads following a loss of $180 million dollars, the company announced in its latest financial report.

"As we articulated when we started the third quarter, continued weakness in the global PC market was the primary factor in our disappointing Q3 results," said Logitech president and CEO Bracken P. Darrell. "These results are unacceptable and we are taking decisive action as an outcome of my strategic review."

Part of this review dictates that Logitech steer away from poor-selling console peripherals by the end of the year. "We have also identified a number of product categories that no longer fit with our current strategic direction," said Darrell. "As a result, we have initiated the process to divest our remote controls and digital video security categories, and we plan to discontinue other non-strategic products, such as speaker docks and console gaming peripherals, by the end of Calendar Year 2013."

Logitech's Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad.

Darrell noted that the company's Ultrathin Keyboard Covers for iPad were hot items in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 - i.e. the three month period ending on 31st December 2012 - and he would like to expand Logitech's presence in tablet accessories. "We are taking immediate actions to shape a faster and more profitable Logitech," Darrell stated. "We are developing more mobility-related products, leveraging the powerful growth of tablets and smartphones."

Elsewhere, Logitech will continue making PC peripherals, albeit selectively. "We intend to sustain our leadership in PC platform-related products where we have engineering, distribution and scale advantages," Darrell added.

Logitech's sales for this most recent quarter totaled $615 million, a 14 per cent decrease since the same time period the previous year where it earned $715 million. Its $180 million operating loss included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of about $211 million, resulting in a net loss of $195 million last quarter compared to a net income of $55 million the same time in 2012.