Malibu Boats Inc. reported sales grew 12.4 percent to $228.7 million in the third quarter ended March 31 as gains in the Malibu segment offset declines in the Saltwater Fishing and Cobalt segments. The boat maker slightly lowered its guidance for the year due to softer retail trends and ongoing market uncertainty.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Highlights Compared to Third Quarter Fiscal 2024:

  • Net sales increased 12.4 percent to $228.7 million
  • Unit volume increased 12.8 percent to 1,431 units
  • Gross profit increased 13.4 percent to $45.7 million
  • GAAP net income increased 119.4 percent to $13.2 million
  • GAAP net income available to Class A Common Stock per share (diluted) increased 120.1 percent to 66 cents per share
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 16.0 percent to $28.3 million
  • Adjusted fully distributed net income per share increased 14.3 percent to 72 cents per share on a fully distributed weighted-average share count of 20.1 million shares of Class A Common Stock

“Our team executed effectively in the third quarter, navigating ongoing market challenges by leveraging our strong brands, disciplined operational performance, and continued focus on dealer health,” commented Steve Menneto, Chief Executive Officer of Malibu Boats, Inc. “While retail softness persists, we saw encouraging momentum around our latest product introductions, even during a mixed boat show season. We remain focused on maintaining dealer inventory in line with retail demand through disciplined production and positioning Malibu to emerge even stronger from these evolving market conditions. We are committed to navigating successfully through this period of uncertainty in the market, leveraging our operational agility while continuing to deliver the innovation and quality that define the Malibu experience and position us for long-term success.”

“Given softer-than-anticipated retail trends and ongoing market uncertainty, we are updating our full-year guidance to reflect current conditions and maintain a clear focus on aligning dealer inventory levels with retail demand,” said Bruce Beckman, Chief Financial Officer of Malibu Boats, Inc. “Despite these market challenges, our execution remains strong, as evidenced by solid gross margin performance and favorable adjusted EBITDA results. As we manage through the remainder of fiscal 2025, we continue to prioritize dealer health and remain confident in our robust cash flow generation, supported by our flexible cost structure. While we are continuing to monitor international trade policy and tariff rates and their long term impact on the company, we do not anticipate tariffs materially impacting our cost structure for the rest of the fiscal year, and we continue to take a proactive approach to mitigating supply chain risks. Our strong balance sheet and ongoing cash generation gives us confidence in our ability to navigate potential headwinds while continuing to lay the foundation for Malibu’s long-term growth.”

Net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $25.2 million, or 12.4 percent, to $228.7 million as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in net sales was driven primarily by increased unit volumes in the Malibu segment, a favorable model mix across all segments and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases, partially offset by decreased unit volumes in the Cobalt and Saltwater Fishing segments and an unfavorable segment mix. Unit volume for the three months ended March 31, 2025, increased 162 units, or 12.8 percent, to 1,431 units as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Our unit volume increased primarily due to higher wholesale shipments across the Malibu segment, partially offset by lower volumes in the Cobalt and Saltwater Fishing segments due to our dealers’ desire to hold less inventory.

Net sales attributable to our Malibu segment increased $42.0 million, or 69.8 percent, to $102.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Unit volumes attributable to our Malibu segment increased 292 units for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to lower wholesale shipments during the three months ended March 31, 2024, as a result of elevated dealer inventory levels. The increase in net sales was driven by an increase in units, a favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases.

Net sales attributable to our Saltwater Fishing segment decreased $9.4 million, or 11.5 percent, to $71.9 million, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Unit volumes attributable to our Saltwater Fishing segment decreased 55 units for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to lower wholesale shipments driven by lower retail activity during the period and our dealers’ desire to hold less inventory. The decrease in net sales was driven by a decrease in units and partially offset by a favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases.

Net sales attributable to our Cobalt segment decreased $7.4 million, or 12.0 percent, to $54.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Unit volumes attributable to Cobalt decreased 75 units for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to lower wholesale shipments driven by our dealers’ desire to hold less inventory. The decrease in net sales was driven primarily by a decrease in units, partially offset by favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases.

Overall consolidated net sales per unit decreased (0.3) percent to $159,792 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in overall consolidated net sales per unit was driven primarily by an unfavorable segment mix partially offset by favorable model mix across all segments and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases. Net sales per unit for our Malibu segment increased 3.2 percent to $137,417 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, driven by favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases. Net sales per unit for our Saltwater Fishing segment increased 3.4 percent to $220,454 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2025 driven by favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases. Net sales per unit for our Cobalt segment increased 6.3 percent to $151,125 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, driven by favorable model mix and inflation-driven year-over-year price increases.

Cost of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $19.9 million, or 12.2 percent, to $182.9 million as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in cost of sales was primarily driven by a 12.4 percent increase in net sales due to higher unit volumes, a more expensive product mix and partially offset by lower per unit labor costs due to fixed cost leveraging.

Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $5.4 million, or 13.4 percent, to $45.7 million compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in gross profit was driven by higher net sales partially offset by increased cost of sales for the reasons noted above. Gross margin for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 20 basis points from 19.8 percent to 20.0 percent driven primarily by the decrease in cost of sales as a percentage of revenue driven by lower per unit labor costs due to fixed cost leveraging.

Selling and marketing expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $0.3 million, or 4.3 percent to $6.8 million compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase was driven primarily by an increase in certain marketing events and travel. As a percentage of sales, selling and marketing expenses decreased 20 basis points to 3.0 percent for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to 3.2 percent for the three months ended March 31, 2024. General and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $1.2 million, or 6.7 percent, to $19.8 million as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024, driven primarily by legal and professional fees. As a percentage of sales, general and administrative expenses decreased 0.4 percent to 8.7 percent for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to 9.1 percent for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Amortization expense remained flat at $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Operating income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 increased to $17.4 million from a loss of $74.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. Net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 increased 119.4 percent to $13.2 million from a loss of $67.8 million and net income margin increased to 5.8 percent from (33.3) percent in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 increased 16.0 percent to $28.3 million from $24.4 million, while Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 12.4 percent from 12.0 percent in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Fiscal 2025 Guidance
For the full fiscal year 2025, Malibu anticipates net sales decline ranging from 3-5 percent, year-over-year, and Adjusted EBITDA margin ranging from 9 percent to 10 percent. Previously, Malibu anticipated net sales percentage to be flat to down low single digits year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA margin at approximately 10 percent.

Image courtesy Malibu Boats