Dealers report sales up through November

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the 11-month period ended November 30, Spader Cos. said that out of the approximately 60 dealers it tracks, the majority reported that their new boat sales were up, compared to the same time period of 2002.

The Spader report divides North American dealers into two categories: those doing under US$5 million in business at retail and those doing over US$5 million.

New boat sales for the smaller dealers were up by over 7 percent in the first 11 months of 2003, while the larger dealers’ sales were up by 5.5 percent.

Total dealership sales for the average small dealer were $3,198,131 this year through the end of November, up 2.6 percent over the previous year, while larger dealerships’ total average sales were reported to be $10,699,466, up 5.3 percent from the same period of 2002, according to Spader.

New boat inventories for the smaller dealers were up 5.2 percent to $919,333 compared to last year while the larger dealers’ inventories were up 7.9 percent to $2,978,495. Used boat inventories were also up for both small and large dealers.

Small dealers

New boat sales for the average small dealer rang up $1,990,642 in the first 11 months of 2003, while used boat sales were reported to be $313,887, up 3.4 percent over the same period of 2002, said Spader.

The market research firm also stated that net profit was $133,202, which is down 4.9 percent from last year, and as a percentage of sales is down 0.3 percentage points from last year to 4.2 percent.

Spader reported that the total gross margin percent for smaller dealers was down 1.5 percentage points from a year ago to 29.1 percent, while total unit margin percent is up 0.9 percentage points to 19.2 percent compared to the same time last year.

Spending is nearly equal to last year, according to Spader.

Large dealers

New boat sales for the average large dealer were $6,629,620 during the first 11 months of the year, while used boat sales were reported at $1,302,266 for the period, up 14.8 percent from the same period of 2002, said Spader.

The market research firm reported that net profit was up 51.9 percent to $596,167 or 5.6 percent of sales through the first 11 months of the year, compared to a net profit that was 3.9 percent of sales a year ago.

Total gross margin was 27.8 percent, up 0.7 percentage points from last year, and while spending in terms of dollars remains nearly level with last year, with the increase in sales, the dollars spent represent almost 6 percent less of the gross margin, the report said.

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