Fleetwood - RV sales down but motorhome sales up
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Travel trailer sales "disappointing", motorhome sales up
3rd quarter fiscal 2007 results

Fleetwood announced on March 8th, 2007, results for the fiscal third quarter and first nine months ended January 28, 2007.

You can read the full press release here, but the following are some key aspects, particularly about their RV business::

  • The company reported a loss of $29.9 million compared with a profit of $1.4 million during the same period a year ago
  • The RV Group incurred an operating loss of $15.8 million for the third quarter, compared to operating income of $3.8 million in the comparable period of the prior year
  • The motor home division earned $5.3 million in the quarter compared to an operating loss of $4.1 million in the third quarter last year, primarily due to a 26 percent increase in revenues
  • The travel trailer division incurred an operating loss of $17.5 million compared to operating income of $11.2 million in the prior year, with revenues dropping 52 percent to $81.8 million. Travel trailer revenues, excluding those generated by the sale of FEMA units, were down 16 percent

"Results from our travel trailer operations were disappointing, but we are in a transition period," Fleetwood's President and CEO Elden L. Smith said.  "We have made substantial progress in the realignment of our product mix across manufacturing facilities, resulting in higher labor efficiencies since implementation in early January 2007. The next phase of this improvement process was to evaluate our capacity needs, particularly in light of the recent softening of the travel trailer market, and in early March we began the process of discontinuing production in three travel trailer facilities. There will be some transition costs in connection with these changes, but the longer-term benefits will far outweigh them.

"On the positive side, revenues in our motor home business were up significantly, leading to a profitable quarter," Smith continued. "Our unit shipments increased 13 percent, while industry shipments of Class A and Class C units for approximately the same three-month period were down slightly. In addition, as of the end of the quarter, the motor home division had its highest backlog since April 2004. Nevertheless, our optimism about the near-term future is somewhat tempered, due to recent stock market volatility, which has affected RV sales in the past, as well as mixed attendance and sales results from the retail shows so far in 2007."

You can read the full press release here
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What do you think?  
RV sales down but motorhome sales up?
Add your comments below ...

   

Readers comments:

don :   The mechanical breakdown on coaches is not the fault of the coach maker, THE ACTUAL CHASSIS is the responsibility of the chassis maker and most coaches use the same ones

MerryT :   On 05 Excursion, entire kitchen slide is slanted sideways and rubbing on side of motor home. Top is in tight and bottom has one inch difference. Fleetwood says this is not structural.

Ken :   I think their drop in towable sales is partially due to the lack of a high quality 5th wheel. If their Triumph and Pride were supposed to be the replacements for the Avion, they evidently were a poor substitute...since they are also gone! Maybe it's time to bring back the Avion!!

John A. :   I would say it means that the majority of people have less money to spend on non-essentials and that the majority of people with less money are poor folks that can't afford a motorhome while more affluent folks still have plenty $s to go around. On another note, my Fleetwood Wilderness 5er never leaked. My Excel 5er leaked. My neighbour's River Canyon leaks. Could this mean that Peterson and Travel Supreme ain't no good?

George :   The smart RV family knows if fuel prices go up we go on shorter trips & we stay longer. Buying a fiver is a smart thing my coach is my home!

Keith :   The reports I read were that trailer type RV's (mainly 5th wheel) were up and motorhome sales were down. Fleetwoods report was based on dollars in sales, which could mean that the cost of trailers was down and the cost of motorhomes had gone sky high!

Bruce K :   Interesting that the motorhome sales increase is put down to the change to more Diesel units. They also say they're making better products and have lowered their cost structure. Most vehicle companies did that 10 years ago. It's fortunate for them that they never had the Japanese as competitors.

 

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