Sales, profits up at Malibu for quarter

Malibu Boats, Inc. announced Wednesday its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 ended March 31, 2016.

Highlights for the third quarter of fiscal 2016

• Net sales increased 5.8 percent to $68.5 million compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
• Net sales per unit increased 8.6 percent to $71,769 and net sales per unit in the U.S. increased 10.6 percent to $75,338 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
• Gross profit increased 2.8 percent to $18.4 million compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.2 percent to $14.1 million from the same period in fiscal 2015.
• Adjusted fully distributed net income at $7.7 million was in line with the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and adjusted fully distributed net income per share increased 17.6 percent to $0.40 over the same period.

“Again, Malibu completed a successful quarter, our fiscal third quarter,” said CEO Jack Springer. “The business, despite substantial international headwinds and an uncertain economic environment, continues to perform at a high level. We have been focused on consistently executing the fundamentals of our business and on those factors we can control. That strategy continues to serve us well as we have again met our key objectives. Our strategies of owning the technology and innovation side of the industry, offering the best integrated wake and surfing system on the market, driving demand through consistent new product and feature launches, maximizing productivity and quality through vertical integration, and being the best operator among marine companies continues to drive success. Importantly, our investments in the pace of new model introductions, trailer manufacturing and strong intellectual property all were key to our sustained performance. In the third quarter, orders at boat shows for our new boat models – the Axis A20, the Malibu Wakesetter 20 VTX, the Malibu Wakesetter 25 LSV and the Malibu M235 — were strong and the 25 LSV continues to significantly outperform our expectations.”

Springer continued, “The recovery and strength in the U.S. market continues to grow meaningfully at retail, but a strong U.S. dollar and lingering oil and gas concerns are negatively affecting and muting the positive U.S. performance. International wholesale shipments are down substantially as our international dealer’s continue to manage inventory levels. Conversely, we have continued to see increased precipitation in the western region of United States which we believe could be a positive factor later this spring and summer, if it continues. We are seeing strong growth in the entry segment that Axis serves and the new Malibu product is having a noticeable impact in the premium segment. Malibu, as a company, is well positioned, as we have the leading market share in all segments, whether “Premium,” “Entry” or “Total” Performance Sports Boats.

“We will continue to closely watch the global environment, along with the domestic segment, and focus on delivering results.”

See the full earnings release here.