Winnebago Industries has reported its financial results for the second quarter fiscal 2019 showing revenues were $432.7 million, a decrease of 7.6 percent compared to $468.4 million for the fiscal 2018 period.
Gross profit was $66.4 million, a decrease of 1.8 percent compared to $67.7 million for the fiscal 2018 period. Gross profit margin increased 100 basis points in the quarter, driven by revenue mix, pricing and motorhome segment operational improvements, partially offset by inflationary cost pressures and heightened dealer incentives. Operating income was $28.9 million for the quarter, a decrease of 18 percent compared to $35.3 million in the second quarter of last year, driven primarily by the decline in RV unit sales.
Fiscal 2019 second quarter net income was $21.6 million, a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to $22.1 million in the same period last year.
“Our solid consolidated second quarter results represent the growing strength of our brands in the marketplace,” said Michael Happe, president and CEO. “We continued to make progress advancing our competitive position, gaining market share and increasing the overall appeal of our products with customers, despite challenging macro conditions within the RV industry as dealers continued to reduce their overall inventory levels in the quarter. Although company sales decreased modestly, we continued to materially outpace the industry and expand our year-over-year margins, primarily due to the improved product vitality and profitability of our motorhome segment and the continued strength and momentum of our towables segment. Our Chris-Craft business also continues to grow and establish a presence for our enterprise in the growing marine industry.”
In the second quarter, revenues for the motorhome segment were $164.7 million, down 17.3 percent from the prior year driven primarily by a decrease in Class A and Class C unit sales, partially offset by an increase in Class B unit sales.
Revenues for the towable segment were $250.7 million for the second quarter, down 5.9 percent from the prior year, driven by dealer network efforts to reduce inventory levels and comparing against very strong shipments in the prior year, partially offset by pricing. Backlog levels remained strong at over 8,000 units but declined 5.7 percent, in dollars, versus the prior year, reflecting the positive impact of utilizing additional capacity added during calendar 2018 and dealers continuing to right-size inventory levels.
“As we move into the second half of fiscal 2019, Winnebago Industries is positioned within the outdoor lifestyle market to drive consolidated share growth and long-term value for shareholders,” said Happe. “While the RV industry has been challenged over the past 6 months, we believe the wholesale shipment and retail sales equation will approach a new equilibrium during our fiscal Q3. We are well positioned to capitalize on the upcoming retail season across all of our brands. As demonstrated by the strong showing of our new product launches at the recent RVX show, including the new Class B Winnebago Boldt; the Class C Winnebago View; the Grand Design Transcend XPlor travel trailer and our award-winning Winnebago All-Electric Specialty Vehicle, we continue to expect our prospects to remain strong and result in continued share gains.”