THOR Industries, Inc. financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2023 include net sales of $2.35 billion (-39.4% compared to same quarter in 2022) and -14.0% over the same quarter in 2021).
“Our fiscal second quarter presented a challenging market environment. Against this backdrop, our financial results and actions are a testament to our ability to operate in such a dynamic and challenging environment. Our resilient second quarter performance demonstrates the strength of THOR’s diverse product offering, the experience of our management teams and the success of our variable cost model. Despite the challenging quarter, THOR generated positive cash flow and maintained an already strong liquidity profile, positioning THOR to operate from a position of financial strength as we move beyond our second quarter,” said Bob Martin, President and CEO of THOR Industries.
“During the quarter, we continued to proactively and decisively balance wholesale production with the pace of softening retail sales through the traditionally slower winter retail season. This commitment to a disciplined production approach, combined with a softer-than-expected order intake, resulted in second quarter North American wholesale shipments of 25,372 units. Despite a significant slowdown of both sales and production, we expect the successful execution of our aggressive, proactive actions and our variable cost model to position our operating companies and independent dealer partners favorably heading into the second half of our fiscal 2023, which typically experiences stronger retail activity than our second quarter.
“While near-term demand will continue to be influenced by macroeconomic conditions, we believe the recent softening in demand to be temporary. We remain encouraged with the continued level of consumer interest for the RV lifestyle. We are experiencing a strong spring retail show season across the country with high attendance figures and solid retail activity. In addition, digital traffic across RV related sites remains well above pre-pandemic levels, reinforcing our long-term optimism for the industry and for THOR. While we are encouraged by these positive indicators, the current macroeconomic environment is still very dynamic. As a result, we have taken decisive steps to position our company to navigate the near-term softening market conditions,” said Martin.
Second-Quarter Financial Results
Consolidated net sales were $2.35 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to $3.88 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 and $2.73 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2021.
Consolidated gross profit margin for the second quarter was 12.1%, a decrease of 530 basis points when compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 and a 330 basis point decrease when compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2021.
North American Towable RV net sales were down 58.2% for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was driven primarily by a 64.6% decrease in unit shipments, partially offset by net selling price increases and a change in product mix. The decrease in unit shipments is primarily due to a softening in current dealer and consumer demand in comparison with the unusually strong second quarter demand in the prior-year quarter, which included independent dealers restocking their lot inventory levels.
North American Towable RV gross profit margin was 6.4% for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to 19.0% in the prior-year period. The decrease in gross profit margin for the second quarter was primarily driven by higher manufacturing overhead costs as a percentage of sales due to the reduction in sales, and an increase in sales discounts. Warranty costs as a percentage of sales also increased.
North American Towable RV loss before income tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 was $7.1 million, compared to income before income tax of $275.9 million in the second quarter last year, driven by the decrease in North American Towable net sales and the decline in the gross margin percentage.
North American Motorized RV net sales decreased 24.4% for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was driven primarily by a 26.3% decrease in unit shipments, partially offset by net selling price increases and a change in product mix.
North American Motorized RV gross profit margin was 14.5% for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, compared to 16.0% in the prior-year period. The decrease in gross profit margin for the second quarter was primarily driven by an increase in overhead costs as a percentage of sales and higher warranty costs.
North American Motorized RV income before income tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased to $61.5 million compared to $104.0 million a year ago, driven by the decrease in North American Motorized net sales.
European RV net sales decreased 10.6% for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 compared to the prior-year period, driven by a 15.3% decrease in unit shipments due primarily to continuing chassis supply constraints. The decrease due to the foreign exchange rate decline of 7.1% was more than offset by net selling price increases and product mix changes.
European RV gross profit margin was 14.1% of net sales for the second quarter compared to 12.5% in the prior-year period. This improvement in gross profit margin for the quarter was primarily driven by net selling price increases, product mix changes and improved warranty costs, partially offset by an increase in overhead costs as a percentage of sales.
European RV income before income tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 was $12.0 million, compared to net income before income tax of $9.7 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2022. The improvement in income before income taxes was primarily driven by the improvement in the gross margin percentage, partially offset by the decrease in European RV net sales.
“Our proven variable cost model and solid through-cycle execution allowed us to generate positive results despite net sales decreasing 39% on a 52% reduction in unit shipments compared to the record prior-year period. We remained committed to our disciplined approach to operations that prioritizes profitability while maintaining market-leading positions across each of THOR’s product categories. This commitment, combined with solid execution across each of our business segments, positions THOR to be a more financially resilient company and to deliver profitability that exceeds previous down-cycle periods,” said Todd Woelfer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
“In North America, through reduced production rates and extended holiday shutdowns, our teams successfully balanced wholesale shipments with retail demand in the second quarter despite the significant retail pullback, keeping dealer inventory levels essentially flat compared to October 31, 2022 levels. Our production discipline continues to be greatly valued among our dealer partners as we work to protect the long-term interests, and profitability, of our customers. In addition, we undertook strategic pricing actions in the quarter aimed at moving finished goods inventory related to calendar 2022 production of certain towable models, and we enacted strong cost controls under our variable cost model. In Europe, we sequentially increased motorized production volumes, aided by the improving chassis availability. We remain encouraged by the improvement in chassis deliveries and we expect to further ramp up production of motorized units in the second half of fiscal 2023 as we look to replenish dealer inventory levels to more normalized levels,” continued Woelfer.
“We also remain focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet. We ended our fiscal second quarter with total liquidity of $1.2 billion, including cash and cash equivalents totaling $281.6 million and approximately $915.0 million of availability under our ABL. Net cash provided by operating activities for the first half of fiscal 2023 totaled $185.3 million, including $91.3 million provided in the challenging second quarter, and was deployed in a balanced manner. During the quarter, cash generated from operations was of a similar level to that generated during our stronger first quarter, further manifesting the Company’s ability to execute in a challenging market. Year-to-date capital deployment included $101.0 million of capital expenditures, $48.2 million of dividend payments, $27.4 million of overall debt reduction and $25.4 million of share repurchases. Subsequent to the end of the fiscal second quarter, we further paid down $15.0 million on our U.S. Term Loan B and $15.0 million on our ABL, demonstrating our commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet despite the softer quarter. Looking forward, given the historical seasonality of our cash flow and expected reductions of net working capital, we expect to generate strong net cash flow from operations in the second half of fiscal 2023, which will allow us to maintain our balanced capital allocation strategy focused on enhancing long-term shareholder value,” said Colleen Zuhl, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Outlook
“While macroeconomic uncertainties continue to exist in the segments and geographies we serve, we have high confidence in our operating teams, flexible business model and execution strategy. Our first half of fiscal 2023 performance reinforces our discipline to remain focused on what we can control. Looking ahead to the second half of fiscal 2023, we intend to maintain that same discipline to navigate this challenging near-term environment while positioning THOR to be an even stronger company when the market recovers,” added Martin.