UPDATE 4-Garmin Q1 profit misses market expectations

(Adds details from conference call, analyst comments)

By Purwa Naveen Raman

BANGALORE, April 30 (Reuters) - Navigation device maker Garmin Ltd (GRMN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) posted first-quarter results that missed market estimates as demand for its products slowed and said it expects prices to fall further in 2008, sending its shares down as much as 13 percent.

Garmin and Dutch rival TomTom (TOM2.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) dominate the personal navigation devices market, which is growing at a slower pace due to a slowdown in consumer spending and increasing competition, leading to price cuts and declining margins.

Shares of Garmin, which is known for its popular nuvi range of navigation devices, were down nearly 11 percent at $41.24 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq. They had touched a 52-week low of $39.75 earlier in the day.

"Lower-than-expected quarterly revenue is definitely concerning and would cast a doubt on them achieving their revenue guidance target of 2008," Needham and Co. analyst Richard Valera said by phone.

The company, however, backed its prior revenue and earnings outlook for the year.

First-quarter profit rose to $147.8 million, or 67 cents a share, from about $139.9 million, or 64 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 35 percent to $663.8 million, down from a scorching growth of 79 percent last year as the personal navigation device market is getting saturated with more companies offering products at lower prices.

Analysts expected the company to earn 74 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $705.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.