Companies and Brands

Winnebago Beats Q4 Earnings

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Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO) released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report before the markets opened on Thursday. The company posted $0.49 in earnings per share (EPS) and $263.3 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $0.47 in EPS on revenue of $252.52 million. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.43 and $251.05 million in revenue.

Fourth-quarter consolidated revenues improved on a year-over-year basis due primarily to higher shipments of 3.0% in motorized units and 57.5% in towables. The current quarter revenues were affected negatively by $5.4 million as Winnebago exited the sale of aluminum extrusions to customers during the year.

At the same time, gross margin improved year over year, as the result of lower raw material costs resulting from the company’s strategic sourcing initiative, as well as favorable product mix and lower warranty expense.

On October 12, the board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share payable on November 23, to common stockholders of record at the close of business on November 9.

President and CEO Michael Happe commented:

Fourth-quarter revenues increased year over year, driven by continued strong growth in our towables business as well as modest improvement in motorized shipments. Importantly, income and gross margin also grew, due in part to our comprehensive strategic sourcing initiatives, a solid increase in labor efficiencies and lower warranty expense. Our towables business continues to be one of the primary performance drivers, as shipments and retail registrations both outperform the market, thanks to several new products and increased dealer outlets. The motorized team drove a higher level of manufacturing output while also working hard to deliver more consistent levels of product quality. I want to thank all the employees at Winnebago for their dedication in Fiscal 2016 and commitment to exceeding our customers’ expectations in the future.

Shares of Winnebago traded up 2.3% to $28.54, with a consensus analyst price target of $30.25 and a 52-week trading range of $15.41 to $30.60.

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