Thor Industries, Inc. reported earnings fell 65.3 percent in the fiscal third quarter ended April 30 on a 37.1 percent revenue decline against pandemic-boosted results in the year-ago quarter. The maker of RVs slightly raised its outlook for the year on a better-than-expected performance. 

“Market conditions continue to be challenging as dealers and consumers face increasing pressures from the macro environment. In this difficult setting, we remain focused on executing our business model that enables us to quickly adapt to market conditions. Consequently, our performance during the fiscal third quarter was solid relative to broader market conditions. Despite dynamics currently affecting the operating environment along with the difficult comparison to record results in the prior-year period, each of our segments largely met or exceeded internal expectations during the quarter. In our European segment, pricing and operational initiatives combined with moderate improvements in chassis availability and resilient demand contributed to strong sequential and year-over-year growth as we continue to realize the value of our European operations. In North America, moderately higher production volumes compared to our second quarter along with greater activity on dealer lots than we saw last quarter resulted in operating results that well exceeded our fiscal 2023 second-quarter results,” said Bob Martin, president and CEO of Thor Industries.

Third-Quarter Financial Results
Consolidated net sales were $2.93 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2023, down 37.1 percent compared to $4.66 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 and a decrease of 15.3 percent from $3.46 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2021.

Consolidated gross profit margin for the third quarter was 14.8 percent, a decrease of 250 basis points when compared to the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 and a 20-basis point increase when compared to the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.

Net income attributable to Thor Industries and diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 were $120.7 million and $2.24, respectively, compared to $348.1 million and $6.32, respectively, for the prior-year period and $183.3 million and $3.29, respectively, for the third quarter of fiscal 2021.

Segment Results
North American Towable RVs

  • North American Towable RV net sales were down 57.4 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 to $1,124 billion compared to the prior-year period, driven primarily by a 57.3 percent decrease in unit shipments. The decrease in unit shipments is primarily due to a softening in current dealer and consumer demand in comparison with the unusually strong third-quarter demand in the prior-year quarter, which included independent dealers restocking their lot inventory levels.
  • North American Towable RV’s gross profit margin was 12.8 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to 17.2 percent in the prior-year period. The decrease in gross profit margin for the third quarter was primarily driven by higher manufacturing overhead, warranty and direct labor percentages, partially offset by a decrease in the material cost percentage due to the combined favorable impacts of product mix changes, net selling price increases and cost savings initiatives exceeding the impact of increased sales discounts.
  • North American Towable RV income before income tax for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 was $77.6 million, compared to income before income tax of $326.7 million in the third quarter last year, with the decrease driven by the decrease in net sales and the decline in the gross margin percentage.

North American Motorized RVs

  • North American Motorized RV net sales decreased 24.4 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 to $795,9 million compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was driven primarily by a 21.2 percent decrease in unit shipments and a 3.2 percent decrease in the overall net price per unit primarily due to changes in product mix.
  • North American Motorized RV’s gross profit margin was 11.7 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to 16.5 percent in the prior-year period. The decrease in the gross profit margin percentage for the third quarter was primarily driven by an increase in sales discounts, higher warranty costs and an increase in manufacturing overhead costs as a percentage of sales due to the reduction in sales.
  • North American Motorized RV income before income tax for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased to $48.2 million compared to $116.3 million a year ago, driven by the decline in the gross margin percentage and the decrease in net sales.

European RVs

  • European RV net sales increased 19.7 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 to $866,8 million compared to the prior-year period, driven by a 22.2 percent increase in the overall net price per unit due to the total combined impact of changes in foreign currency, product mix and price, partially offset by a 2.5 percent decrease in unit shipments. The decrease due to the foreign exchange rate decline of 2.7 percent was more than offset by net selling price increases and product mix changes.
  • European RV’s gross profit margin was 17.5 percent of net sales for the third quarter compared to 13.8 percent in the prior-year period. This improvement in the gross profit margin percentage for the quarter was primarily driven by net selling price increases, product mix changes and a reduction in the labor cost percentage.
  • European RV income before income tax for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 was $72.4 million, compared to net income before income tax of $20.6 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2022. The improvement in income before income taxes was primarily driven by the improvement in the gross margin percentage and the increase in net sales.

Management Commentary
“Solid operational execution enabled Thor to effectively navigate a dynamic industry environment and generate $2.93 billion of consolidated net sales and $120.7 million of net income attributable to Thor in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. As expected, our consolidated gross profit margin improved sequentially versus the fiscal second quarter driven by higher production volumes, disciplined execution, and ongoing employment of our variable cost model,” said Colleen Zuhl, senior vice president and chief financial officer.”

“In North America, we continue to prudently manage wholesale production levels given cautious ordering patterns by our independent dealers amid an uncertain market environment. Given the seasonal step-up in retail demand we experienced as we progressed through the fiscal third quarter, our teams were able to assist independent dealers in destocking approximately 8,300 units from channel inventory and reducing a substantial number of prior-model-year units. In addition, our operating teams continue to employ our proven variable cost model by further temporarily rightsizing the manufacturing footprint and implementing cost reduction initiatives targeted at keeping our operating costs in line with market conditions. These actions, and the progress we achieved during our third fiscal quarter, enhance our position as we execute through the balance of the fiscal year,” said Todd Woelfer, senior vice president and chief operating officer.

“In Europe, we delivered strong fiscal third-quarter results reflecting the benefits of pricing actions previously taken to offset material and other input costs, operational efficiencies and moderate improvements in chassis supply. We continue to experience favorable market dynamics in Europe as consumer demand remains resilient in many of the geographic areas we serve, while the restocking cycle for motorized products is set to extend into early fiscal 2024. Additionally, our Nowa Sól, Poland manufacturing facility started its commercial operations late in the fiscal third quarter and will enable us to expand the reach of our product offerings in Europe as production is scaled up over the next 24 to 36 months,” continued Woelfer.

“Net cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended April 30, 2023, totaled $474.1 million, including $288.8 million provided in the third fiscal quarter, as a result of our strong, strategic operating performance. This solid cash generation during the quarter allowed the company to pay down $90.0 million on our U.S. Term Loan B and $35.0 million on our ABL as well as repurchase 210,799 shares of our common stock at a weighted-average price of $78.75 for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $16.6 million. Subsequent to the end of the fiscal third quarter, we paid down an additional $85.0 million on our U.S. Term Loan B and made principal payments totaling $50.0 million to fully pay off the outstanding balance on our ABL, further solidifying an already strong balance sheet amid a soft macroeconomic environment. Looking ahead, we remain committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet and leveraging our cash flow to drive enhanced shareholder value,” added Zuhl.

Outlook
“Our team made significant progress during the fiscal third quarter to position us for improved long-term performance. During the quarter we worked with our independent dealers to reduce channel inventory, rightsized our product offerings based on current demand trends and continued to leverage our variable cost model in an effort to preserve margins. While we are encouraged by our fiscal third-quarter results, we anticipate certain macroeconomic challenges to persist in the near term. As we continue to navigate through and adapt to evolving economic conditions, our operational discipline and flexible business model continue to position us to deliver solid results. Our production will continue to align to retail pull-through, and we will maintain this discipline as we move to model year 2024 products towards the end of our fiscal fourth quarter. Combined, our efforts to move model year 2022 units through the retail cycle and our disciplined production of model year 2023 units to lower overall channel inventory levels position us well for the model year 2024 rollout. While we anticipate these efforts will result in sequentially lower fiscal fourth quarter financial results, we believe these strategies will bolster our relative performance next fiscal year. As the current macro environment remains fluid, our fiscal third-quarter results demonstrate our commitment to positioning the business to excel across the business cycle, and our teams remain focused on delivering a strong finish to fiscal 2023,” concluded Martin.

Fiscal 2023 Guidance
The company is updating its most recent full-year fiscal 2023 guidance ranges to reflect the strong third-quarter performance partially offset by an expected reduction in our fiscal fourth-quarter production volumes of North American towable products in anticipation of the model year 2024 changeover. The revised ranges continue to reflect heightened macroeconomic uncertainty as well as the impact of fiscal fourth-quarter strategies to position our independent dealers for improved future performance.

For fiscal 2023, the company’s updated full-year guidance includes:

  • Consolidated net sales in the range of $10.5 billion to $11.0 billion (previously $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion);
  • Consolidated gross profit margin in the range of 13.8 percent to 14.2 percent (previously 13.4 percent to 14.2 percent); and
  • Diluted earnings per share in the range of $5.80 to $6.50 (previously $5.50 to $6.50).

Photo courtesy Thor Industries