Camping World Holdings Inc. reported revenue for the third quarter ended September 30 increased 6.2 percent to $1.313 billion, but it fell short of Wall Street’s estimates by $110 million.

The company also reported income from operations, net income and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock were $83.9 million, $47.9 million and 38 cents, respectively, and included $5.8 million of pre-opening store costs associated with the Gander Outdoors store openings. The company missed EPS targets by 21 cents.

Third quarter highlights and year-over-year financial comparisons include:

  • Revenue increased 6.2 percent to $1.313 billion;
  • Gross profit increased 5.9 percent to $376.3 million, and gross margin was flat at 28.7 percent;
  • Income from operations, net income and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock were $83.9 million, $47.9 million, and $0.38, respectively, and included $5.8 million of pre-opening store costs associated with the Gander Outdoors store openings;
  • Adjusted EBITDA decreased 17 percent to $100.1 million;
  • The number of Active Customers and Good Sam Club members reached all-time high levels of 4.5 million and 2 million, respectively; and
  • At September 30, 2018, the Company operated a total of 227 unique locations.

Marcus A. Lemonis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We have spent the last 15 years building a unique business that combines a comprehensive portfolio of RV products and services with iconic industry brands, a large customer database, leading size and scale, a core of high-margin recurring revenue products and services, a variable cost structure, and a capital efficient model. In a highly fragmented industry that is primarily comprised of smaller independent operators, we believe we have a strategic operating advantage. No RV dealer in the industry has more combined resources, experience and scale than Camping World, and our model was designed with the goal navigating through the various ups and downs of the industry and delivering long-term profitable growth. At a time of excess channel inventory, rising input costs, rising interest rates, volatility in the stock market and uncertainty around the broader economy, we aggressively managed our RV inventory levels, controlled SG&A expenses, stayed disciplined on our pricing, and focused on margins and cash flow. This allowed us to generate more than $100 million of adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter and put us in an opportunistic buying position over the next several months.”

Change in Segment Reporting

During the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the Company’s board of directors appointed Brent Moody, formerly the Chief Operating and Legal Officer, as President of the Company. In this new role, the Company determined that Mr. Moody now performs the role of chief operating decision maker together with the Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, responsibilities of certain members of senior management of the Company were realigned to maximize the contributions of the Company’s recent acquisitions of Retail businesses. As a result of these changes, the Company has determined that its reportable segments have changed. The Company’s new reportable segments have been identified based on various commonalities amongst the Company’s individual product lines, which is consistent with the Company’s operating structure and associated management structure and management evaluates the performance of and allocates resources to these segments based on segment revenues and segment profit. The segment reporting for prior comparative periods has been restated to conform to the current period presentation.

The Company previously had two reportable segments: (i) Consumer Services and Plans; and (ii) Retail. Following the realignment, the Company now has three reportable segments: (i) Consumer Services and Plans, (ii) Dealership, and (iii) Retail. The Company’s Consumer Services and Plans segment remains the same as prior periods and primarily derives revenue from the sale of emergency roadside assistance; property and casualty insurance programs; travel assist programs; extended vehicle service contracts; co-branded credit cards; vehicle financing and refinancing; club memberships; and publications and directories. The Company has separated the prior Retail segment into two distinct segments: Dealership and Retail. The Company’s Dealership segment primarily derives revenue from the sale of new and used RVs; RV parts, services and other items; and finance, insurance, and protection products. The Company’s Retail segment primarily derives revenue from the sale of products, parts, and services for RVs and the sale of merchandise, supplies, and services for outdoor activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, bicycling, skateboarding, and marine and watersports. Corporate and other is comprised of the corporate operations of the Company.

The reportable segments identified above are the business activities of the Company for which discrete financial information is available and for which operating results are regularly reviewed by the Company’s chief operating decision maker to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is a group comprised of the Chief Executive Officer and the President.

Third Quarter 2018 Results

Consolidated Results

  • Revenue increased 6.2 percent to $1.313 billion.
  • Gross profit increased 5.9 percent to $376.3 million and gross margin was flat at 28.7 percent.
  • Income from operations, net income and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock were $83.9 million, $47.9 million, and $0.38, respectively, and included $5.8 million of pre-opening store costs associated with the Gander Outdoors store openings.
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) decreased 17 percent to $100.1 million
  • The number of Active Customers and Good Sam Club members reached all-time high levels of 4.5 million and 2 million, respectively
  • At September 30, 2018, the Company operated a total of 227 unique locations, which included 136 dealership locations, 129 Camping World RV products, parts and services locations (including 115 co-located with a dealership), 60 Gander Outdoors locations (including 5 co-located with a dealership), and 22 other retail locations.

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. For a reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section later in this press release.

Consumer Services and Plans

  • Revenue(2) increased 12.7 percent to $52 million
  • Gross profit(2) increased 17.1 percent to $30.5 million and gross margin(2) increased 219 basis points to 58.7 percent
  • The number of participants across our Consumer Service and Plans offerings increased 8.5 percent to 3 million
  • The Company added 95,876 Good Sam Club members in the third quarter 2018 and membership reached an all-time-high of more than 2 million members, an increase of 12.8 percent from the third quarter 2017

Dealership

  • Revenue(2) increased 0.7 percent to $1.076 billion
  • Gross profit(2) decreased 1.5 percent to $277.8 million and gross margin(2) decreased 59 basis points to 25.8 percent
  • Vehicle units sold increased 2.3 percent to 28,288 units
    • New vehicle units sold increased 2.1 percent to 19,512 units
    • Used vehicles units sold increased 2.6 percent to 8,776 units
  • Average selling price per unit sold decreased 2.8 percent to $31,641
    • New vehicles decreased 4.3 percent to $35,738 per unit
    • Used vehicles increased 2.9 percent to $22,534 per unit
  • New travel trailer units sold as a percentage of total new units sold increased 193 basis points to 67.2 percent, contributing to the decrease in average selling price per vehicle
  • Same store unit volume of new vehicles decreased 4.5 percent, with towables down 1.5 percent and motorized down 19.6 percent
  • Gross profit per vehicle sold including finance and insurance decreased 5.1 percent to $8,581
  • Finance and insurance revenue as a percentage of total vehicle revenue increased 103 basis points to 12.2 percent
  • New vehicle inventory per dealership decreased 12.2 percent to $6.7 million from September 30, 2017.
    • New motorized unit inventory per dealership decreased 38.1 percent
    • New towable unit inventory per dealership decreased 1.8 percent

Retail

  • Revenue(2) increased 52.6 percent to $184.5 million.
  • Gross profit(2) increased 44.4 percent to $67.9 million and gross margin(2) decreased 209 basis points to 36.8 percent.
  • Retail same store sales decreased 10.1 percent across the same store base of 116 Camping World RV products, parts and services stores.
  • At September 30, 2018, there were 129 Camping World RV products, parts and services locations, 60 Gander Outdoors locations, and 22 other retail locations.
  • The Company closed one Gander Outdoors location in the third quarter.

(2) Revenue, gross profit and gross margin are after elimination of inter-segment revenues.

Select Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Items

The Company’s working capital and cash and cash equivalents on September 30, 2018 were $594.5 million and $125.4 million, respectively. Total inventories increased 24.8 percent to $1.50 billion on a year-over-year basis, primarily from the new Dealership locations acquired or opened, partially offset by lower per store inventories at the Dealerships. On a year-over-year basis from September 30, 2017, new vehicle inventory decreased 1.3 percent to $912.6 million and new vehicle inventory per dealership decreased 12.2 percent to $6.7 million. Retail segment inventory was $453.2 million on September 30, 2018 versus $167.1 million on September 30, 2017 and included $253.9 million of inventory related to the Gander stores. At September 30, 2018, the Company had $24.4 million of borrowings under its revolving line of credit as part of its Floor Plan Facility, $1.2 billion of term loans outstanding under the Senior Secured Credit Facilities, and $734 million of floor plan notes payable under the Floor Plan Facility.

Photo courtesy Camping World Holdings