Thor fiscal year profit drops

ELKHART, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Elkhart-based Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE: THO) is reporting fiscal full-year net income of $132 million, down from $430 million the previous year. The recreational vehicle manufacturer says the results included nearly $115 million in costs related to the acquisition of Germany-based Erwin Hymer Group SE, which was completed in February.

Thor is also reporting fiscal fourth quarter net income of $92.5 million, up from $88.2 million during the same period last year. Chief Executive Officer Bob Martin says the company is optimistic about the results.

“We are encouraged by the improvement in the North American RV Towables segment in the fourth quarter, as we saw our flexible business model and the benefits of our variable cost structure drive improvement in margins for the quarter,” Martin said in a news release. “Fiscal 2019 was a year of significant accomplishments amid challenging industry conditions. We completed the largest acquisition in our Company’s and the RV industry’s history, while managing through the overhang of inventory among our independent dealers. As we look ahead to fiscal 2020, we see many reasons for optimism as we leverage the global growth opportunities of EHG.”

Martin says the company’s confidence was reinforced at three recent events, which he said were well attended and reflected the optimistic sentiment of independent RV dealers and consumers.

“We believe we are nearing the conclusion of the North American independent dealer inventory rationalization process, resulting in normalized dealer inventory levels by the end of this calendar year. We see positive factors supporting our outlook for fiscal year 2020. North American dealer inventory levels are 25% lower than the unusually high levels at the end of last year, and nearly 6% lower than they were two years ago. Dealers remain confident, and many of the dealers I speak with continue to invest in growing their businesses for the long term.”

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