Feb 26 (Reuters) - Beyond Meat ( BYND ) forecast annual

revenue below estimates on Wednesday, as the faux meat products

maker faces persistent demand weakness amid sticky inflation.

Beyond Meat ( BYND ) has been losing steam it garnered a couple of

years ago as consumers began shifting to fresh and lower-priced

animal meat alternatives over its processed vegan meat.

Its total volume of products sold in the quarter fell 2.1%,

compared with an 8% rise a year earlier.

Shares of the company were down about 2% in extended

trading.

The company also said it would be suspending operational

activities in China and lay off about 20 employees, representing

3% of global workforce.

The vegan burger patty maker also said its board has

approved its plan to cut some jobs in North America and the

European Union, which would represent about 17% of its global

non-production workforce or roughly 6% of overall global

workforce.

The company targets a positive run-rate in its core profit

by the end of 2026 and is implementing organizational changes

and cost-reduction measures to strengthen its financial profile

and support its long-term objectives.

Despite taking consecutive price hikes and lowering

discount, the company's margins came under pressure from higher

logistics costs.

Its margin was 13.1% in the quarter ended December 31, from

17.7% in the third quarter.

It posted net loss of 65 cents per share, compared with

analysts' estimate of loss of 43 cents as per data compiled by

LSEG.

For fiscal 2025, the company expects net revenue in the

range of $320 million to $335 million, compared with analysts'

estimates of $337.6 million.