Thor Industries reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results on Tuesday but issued a downbeat full-year outlook as the maker of recreational vehicles expects softer market trends to continue in fiscal 2025. The company anticipates per-share earnings to be in a range of $4 to $5 for fiscal 2025, while six analysts polled by Capital IQ currently expect GAAP EPS of $6.14.
The company expects sales in the period to come in between $9 billion and $9.8 billion, while the Street expects $10.17 billion. For the 2024 fiscal year, the company's net income slumped 29% to $4.94 a share and sales fell 9.7% to $10.04 billion. "We anticipate that the RV market will continue to be challenging throughout our fiscal year which ends on July 31, 2025," Chief Operating Officer Todd Woelfer stated.
"We anticipate that we will face market headwinds that will impact our full-year performance in both our North American motorized and European segments." Shares of the company were down 2.8% in premarket activity. For the quarter ended July, Thor's EPS remained unchanged at $1.68 on a yearly basis, but surpassed the Street's view for $1.31.
Sales fell 7.4% year over year to $2.53 billion but topped analysts' $2.47 billion estimate. North American towable RV sales ticked up to $931.9 million from $930.7 million in the prior-year quarter, with a 16% increase in unit shipments offset by a decline of the same percentage in net price per unit.
Revenue from motorized RVs in North America dropped 21% from last year to $517.3 million amid a 25% fall in unit shipments. European RV sales decreased 7.4% to $943.4 million weighed down by a 15% decline in unit shipments. "Our teams delivered solid performances as we continue to navigate the persistent challenges in the industry's retail environment," Chief Executive Bob Martin remarked.
"We realized strong margin performance relative to the current market conditions as our teams executed on strategic initiatives designed to maximize our operational efficiency." Gross profit margin improved 140 basis points year over year to 15.8%, aided in part by a favorable last-in, first-out inventory adjustment due to inventory level reductions and an improved warranty cost percentage, the company noted.
Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to nearly $231 million from $209.6 million last year. Price: 100.10, Change: -3.09, Percent Change: -2.99.