Winnebago shows growth led by towables
Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), a leading United States recreational vehicle manufacturer, with area manufacturing facilities in Forest City and Lake Mills, last week reported financial results for the Company’s third quarter of Fiscal 2017.
Third Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results
Revenues for the Fiscal 2017 third quarter ended May 27, 2017, were $476.4 million, an increase of 75.1 percent compared to $272.1 million for the Fiscal 2016 period. Gross profit was $70.8 million, an increase of 134.0 percent compared to $30.3 million for the Fiscal 2016 period as gross profit margins expanded 380 basis points driven by a favorable product mix, including the addition of Grand Design products within the overall sales mix. Operating income was $34.9 million for the current quarter, an improvement of 69.3 percent compared to $20.6 million in the third quarter of last year. Fiscal 2017 third quarter net income was $19.4 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, an increase of 34.3 percent compared to $14.4 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, in the same period last year. Growth in EPS was impacted by the recognition of $10.2 million of amortization expense during the quarter associated with the Grand Design acquisition. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $47.3 million compared to $17.7 million last year, which is an increase of 167.2 percent.
President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Happe commented, “Our third quarter results continued to reflect the journey we are on here at Winnebago Industries to build a larger, more profitable, full-line RV portfolio. The performance of our new Grand Design division and the associated integration activities continue to meet and even exceed our expectations, and are certainly accelerating our diversification within the still-growing North American RV industry. We delivered strong improvement in gross margin, driven primarily by the overall shift of revenues to our more profitable Towables Segment. We are gaining market share in both of our Towables businesses, including the Winnebago-branded side, and are aggressively investing in new products and further capacity expansion. In the Motorized segment, we are building the foundation for future growth with significant activity around product-line rationalization, enhanced dealer coverage strategies, and focused new product development teams, improving quality and service support processes, and building toward a more nimble and lean manufacturing environment. In addition to solid sales and profitability results, we have also strengthened our balance sheet by reducing debt by $43 million during the quarter.”
Significant items related to the Grand Design acquisition that are impacting income before income taxes in the third quarter of Fiscal 2017:
• Additional transaction costs related to the acquisition were $0.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, net of tax.
• Amortization expenses of $10.2 million were recorded related to the definite-lived intangible assets acquired, or $0.21 per diluted share, net of tax. Starting next quarter (in the fiscal fourth quarter), we expect amortization expenses will be approximately $2.0 million per quarter through Fiscal 2021.
• Interest expense of $5.3 million was recorded related to the debt associated with the acquisition of Grand Design, or $0.11 per diluted share, net of tax.
Motorized
Revenues for the Motorized segment were $241.7 million, down 2.0 percent from the previous year. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $12.6 million, down 22.3 percent from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 140 basis points, primarily driven by pricing adjustments, product mix and costs associated with transitioning production to the Company’s Junction City, Oregon facility.
Towable
Revenues for the Towable segment were $234.7 million for the quarter, up $209.3 million over the prior year, driven by the addition of $196.9 million in revenue from the Grand Design acquisition. We also saw continued strong organic growth in Winnebago-branded Towable products in which revenues are up 49% compared to last year. Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $34.7 million, up $33.2 million over the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 880 basis points, driven by higher volumes and a favorable product mix, including the addition of Grand Design products within this segment.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
As of May 27, 2017, the Company had total outstanding debt of $286.9 million ($297.0 million of debt, net of debt issuance costs of $10.1 million) and working capital of $120.8 million. The debt-to-equity ratio was 68.9% and the current ratio was 1.7 as of the end of the quarter. Cash flow from operations was $62.2M in the quarter, representing a 53% increase from last year.
“As we head into the final quarter of Fiscal 2017, we remain optimistic about the ongoing growth of the RV industry,” continued Mr. Happe. “Solid macroeconomic fundamentals, combined with a surge of younger demographics embracing the outdoor lifestyle, as well as expanding use cases for RVs, suggest continued runway for increasing RV shipments and retail. The strong growth in the Towable segment validates our full-line strategy and demonstrates our momentum, and we are pleased to note healthy and increasing backlog in both the Motorized and Towable segments this quarter. As a result, we have approved investments in expanded capacity, including the addition of approximately 40% more production space within our Grand Design business. We also recently initiated the selling process with our dealers for a new opening price Class A Gas product series and a new innovative Class B 4x4 product series, which we anticipate will have a positive impact on trends in our Motorized business.”
Conference Call
Winnebago Industries, Inc. will conduct a conference call to discuss third quarter Fiscal 2017 results at 9:00 a.m. Central Time today. Members of the news media, investors and the general public are invited to access a live broadcast of the conference call via the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at http://investor.wgo.net. The event will be archived and available for replay for the next 90 days.
About Winnebago
Winnebago is a leading U.S. manufacturer of recreation vehicles under the Winnebago and Grand Design brands, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The Company builds quality motorhomes, travel trailers and fifth wheel products. Winnebago has multiple facilities in Iowa, Indiana, Oregon and Minnesota. The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges and traded under the symbol WGO. Options for the Company’s common stock are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. For access to Winnebago’s investor relations material, visit http://investor.wgo.net.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including, but not limited to increases in interest rates, availability of credit, low consumer confidence, availability of labor, significant increase in repurchase obligations, inadequate liquidity or capital resources, availability and price of fuel, a slowdown in the economy, increased material and component costs, availability of chassis and other key component parts, sales order cancellations, slower than anticipated sales of new or existing products, new product introductions by competitors, the effect of global tensions, integration of operations relating to mergers and acquisitions activities, any unexpected expenses related to ERP, risks relating to the integration of our acquisition of Grand Design including; risks inherent in the achievement of cost synergies and the timing thereof; risks related to the disruption of the transaction to Winnebago and Grand Design and its management; the effect of announcement of the transaction on Grand Design’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties, risk related to compliance with debt covenants and leverage ratios, risks related to integration of the two companies and other factors. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or from the Company upon request. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in this release or to reflect any changes in the Company’s expectations after the date of this release or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based, except as required by law.
