The nation’s top recreational vehicle maker says second-quarter earnings fell one-point-five million dollars as production of R-V’s exceeded demand. Bruce Hertzke, the C-E-O of Forest City-based Winnebago Industries, says the quarter’s results were impacted by lower motor home deliveries to dealers, mainly as an after-effect from the war in Iraq.Hertzke says in the summer of 2003, dealers had low inventories and a pent-up demand for R-Vs that forced Winnebago to work overtime for much of the first half of fiscal ’04 to meet the demand. Winnebago reports earnings of 14-point-four million dollars during this fiscal year’s second quarter. That’s down nine-point-four percent from 15-point-nine million a year ago. Revenues for the quarter were 239-million dollars, down from 266-million last year. Hertzke says the company is content that it is still ranked as the nation’s top R-V manufacturer.As oil prices reach an all-time high, so does the price of gasoline both in Iowa and nationwide, but Hertzke says he hopes the rise in petroleum prices won’t effect the psychology of those people who are looking to purchase a motor home.He says the gas to operate an R-V is a small part of the cost, but he does say the high gas prices will have an impact on consumer confidence. For the first six months of fiscal 2005, Winnebago reported revenues of 505-point-five million dollars, compared to 521-million for the same time period a year ago.
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