Thor Industries swings to quarterly loss
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Elkhart-based Thor Industries Inc. is reporting a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $1.8 million, compared to net income of $53.6 million during the same period last year.
CEO Bob Martin said the recreational vehicle manufacturer’s performance continues to be impacted by a soft retail and wholesale environment, which was expected heading into the quarter.
Martin said in a news release his team has worked hard to put its focus on controlling what they can control, which is the company’s product.
“Our strategic approach continues to focus on aligning our production to match the current retail environment and avoiding growth of independent dealer inventory levels of our products until market conditions indicate otherwise,” he said. “By remaining disciplined and aligned with current market conditions, our companies remain incredibly well-positioned to outperform the market when retail demand inevitably picks up.”
Net sales for the quarter totaled $2.1 billion, down from $2.5 billion the previous year. Additionally, the company made some adjustments to its leadership team, a move it says would allow Martin to have a greater focus on its North American market.
“During the quarter, we eliminated the management layer between our North American RV subsidiaries and our CEO,” Chief Operating Officer Todd Woelfer said in the release. “This will allow for Bob to return to his hands-on approach of leading and guiding these companies.”
The company also closed an operating facility in Idaho, which led to some job cuts, though a specific number of layoffs were not provided. The moves are expected to generate over $10 million in annual cost savings, Thor said.
Looking ahead, Thor says signs are pointing to a return to normalization in the RV market with an uptick in dealer optimism. As such, the company did not make any changes to its full-year guidance.
Thor’s stock was down 1.5% to $103.45 per share at midday trading Thursday.
You can view the full earnings report by clicking here.