Winnebago swings to 4Q loss, RV shipments plunge
October 16th, 2008 | by admin |FOREST CITY, Iowa—Winnebago Industries Inc. said Thursday it swung to a fourth-quarter loss and suspended its quarterly dividend as volatile gas prices and tight credit sent motor home deliveries tumbling.
The recreational vehicle maker says it lost $12.7 million, or 44 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 30, compared with a profit of $14.8 million, or 49 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Revenue plunged 64 percent to $85.3 million from $237.7 million. Thomson Reuters says analysts expected a much smaller loss of 19 cents per share on revenue of $132.5 million.
Winnebago also suspended its quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share.
Winnebago says profit for the fiscal year fell to $2.8 million, or 10 cents per share, from $41.6 million, or $1.32 per share, the previous year. Revenue slipped to $604.3 million from $870.1 million.
“As difficult as conditions have been all fiscal year, the Company’s fourth quarter was even more challenging,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Olson in a statement. “While fuel prices stabilized somewhat during the quarter, the U.S. economy continued to falter, with the availability of credit and rising interest rates becoming major concerns for both our retail customers and our dealers.”
The company also reported a $4.7 million impairment charge from idling its Charles City, Iowa, manufacturing plant and severance costs of about $750,000 due to job cuts at all of its facilities.
