Good results for public boating companies to close out 2015

The final quarter of 2015 proved to be a good one for the publicly traded companies in the industry, with Brunswick, MarineMax, Malibu, Marine Products and MasterCraft all showing growth.

Several of the companies reported challenges in Canada and overseas, but that was offset by strong numbers for the U.S. market.

Brunswick reports 7 percent sales increase for 2015

Brunswick Corp. reported higher sales and earnings for the year and the fourth quarter.

Sales for the marine portion of Brunswick’s business were up 6 percent for the quarter and 8 percent for the year.

“Our full-year revenues increased by 7 percent; 11 percent on a constant currency basis,” said chairman and CEO Dusty McCoy. “Our top line reflected strong growth rates in fiberglass sterndrive/inboard and outboard boats, outboard engines and marine parts and accessories.”

Sales in Brunswick’s engine group were up 6 percent in 2015.
Sales in Brunswick’s engine group were up 6 percent in 2015.

Company executives expressed optimism about 2016 as well.

Overall, Brunswick is forecasting revenue growth of 9 to 11 percent in 2016, with mid- to high-single-digit growth in both engine and boat sales.

Sales for the marine engine segment (which includes parts and accessories) were up 6 percent for the year at $2.3 billion and up 2 percent for the quarter to $474.7 million. The boat group had sales of $1.27 billion for the year, up 12 percent from 2014, and $336 million for the quarter, up 14 percent.

Outboard sales continue to grow, especially in the saltwater, commercial and repower markets, as new engines introduced last year are driving market share gains. Sterndrive sales continue to be “challenged,” although Mercury’s market share is stable, Schwabero added.

Sales up 33.2 percent for Chaparral, Robalo parent

Marine Products Corp., manufacturer of Chaparral and Robalo, grew sales, profits and income for the fourth quarter of 2015 on the strength of outboard sales, the company reported.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2015, Marine Products generated net sales of $49,881,000, a 33.2 percent increase over the $37,441,000 for the same period in 2014.

The company credited higher unit sales of Robalo outboard sport fishing boats and Chaparral Suncoast outboard boats during the quarter.

“The 2015 retail selling season was strong, and the dealer and customer reception of many of our new product offerings has been positive,” said Richard A. Hubbell, Marine Products’s president and CEO. “Unit sales growth among our Robalo sport fishing boats continues to be strong, particularly in sales of our new Robalo 160 models.  Chaparral SunCoast outboard sales continued to grow as well and we continue to be optimistic about the SunCoast models that we introduced for the 2016 model year.”

Gross profit for the quarter was $11,117,000, or 22.3 percent of net sales, a 49.5 percent increase compared to gross profit of $7,434,000, or 19.9 percent of net sales, a year earlier. Higher production volumes, which led to improved manufacturing efficiencies, helped boost those numbers, the company said.

“Early results of attendance and sales from the 2016 boat show season are favorable, and our order backlog is higher than at this time last year,” Hubbell said.

MarineMax reports higher revenue, sales for Q1

MarineMax, Inc. reported higher sales and revenue results for its first quarter of fiscal 2016 ended December 31, 2015.

Revenue grew more than 7 percent to $169.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, from $158.1 million for the comparable quarter last year. Same-store sales increased 8 percent, building upon the 45 percent same-store sales growth in the same period last year.

“The growing interest in new boats from our manufacturing partners and our focus on enhancing the boating experience is resonating with our customers, as evidenced by our strong results to start fiscal 2016, which exceeded the extraordinary growth we produced in the same quarter last year,” said chairman, president and CEO Bill McGill.

Last year’s fiscal first quarter (the final quarter of 2014 calendar year) was the first December quarter to be profitable for MarineMax in several years, said McGill during an earnings call discussing the results.

“We challenged our team … and they delivered,” he said. “Many categories showed increases for the month of December. We believe our growth outpaced that of the industry, resulting in market share gains.”

MarineMax increased new unit sales by about 20 percent, besting the industry average.

Outboard-powered boats were the key to growth for Marine Products in 2015.
Outboard-powered boats were the key to growth for Marine Products in 2015.

New products from Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Azimut and others are helping to drive growth.

For the second consecutive year, the company produced a profitable first quarter with net income of $889,000 or $0.04 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, compared to $214,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year.

“The excitement we generated in the December quarter, has continued into the boat shows that we have participated in since the start of January, which is the beginning of the winter boat show season,” McGill said.

McGill also discussed the recent acquisition of the Bahia Mar Marina in Pensacola. The marina’s large number of wet and dry slips will help improve cash flow, and its on water location will make for a good future home for the company’s currently landlocked Pensacola location, he said. MarineMax has had a Pensacola location for 13 years but will be moving its operations to Bahia Mar Marina.

MarineMax also continues to explore other acquisitions.

“We are in discussion with several larger dealers,” McGill said. “The chances of something happening sooner are greater than it was six months ago or a year ago.”

Malibu sales up 9.1 percent for quarter

Malibu Boats, Inc. announced higher sales and profits for its second quarter of fiscal 2016 ended December 31, 2015.

“Malibu completed another successful quarter, meeting or exceeding our internal financial and operating targets for the eighth straight quarter since our IPO,” said CEO Jack Springer.

Highlights for the second quarter of Fiscal 2016:

• Net sales increased 9.1 percent to $60.5 million compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

• Unit volume increased 2.4 percent to 867 boats, including 81 units from Australia, compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

• Net sales per unit increased 6.5 percent to $69,787 and net sales per unit in the U.S. increased 7.5 percent to $72,526 compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

• Gross profit increased 12.1 percent to $15.9 million and gross margin increased 73 basis points to 26.2 percent compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.0 percent to $11.2 million from the same period in fiscal 2015.

• Adjusted fully distributed net income at $5.8 million was in line with the second quarter of fiscal 2015 and adjusted fully distributed net income per share increased 15.4 percent to $0.30 over the same period.

MasterCraft reports 12 percent sales increase for quarter

MasterCraft grew sales, income and margin for its fiscal 2016 second quarter, ended December 27, 2015.

“We continue to deliver outstanding top- and bottom-line increases and unit volume growth,” said MasterCraft president and CEO Terry McNew. “These gains are driven by continued demand for performance sport boats across all models, in particular overwhelming demand for our X23, growth in our MasterCraft NXT line of entry-level models and our newly released X26.”

MasterCraft-only net sales for the three months ended December 27, 2015, which exclude the terminated Hydra-Sports manufacturing contract, increased $6.0 million, or 12.2 percent, versus the prior year. The net sales gain was primarily due to a rise in MasterCraft unit volume of 48 units, or 7.4 percent. Net sales per MasterCraft unit grew by 3.9 percent, chiefly stemming from greater adoption of higher-end option packages, new product launches and price increases, the company said. Net sales for the three months ended December 27, 2015, were $55.2 million, up $2.4 million, or 4.5 percent, compared to $52.8 million for the three months ended December 28, 2014.

“Like most marine manufacturers, international headwinds, particularly in Canada, are partially offsetting U.S. results. However, we expect to maintain our sales momentum as MasterCraft continues to drive sustainable, profitable market share gains,” said McNew.

 

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