Forest City-based Winnebago Industries lost $912,000 in its fiscal second quarter, but the motor home maker is pleased its sales backlog is in better shape compared to last year. Winnebago president Randy Potts says despite the loss, it will be a break-even quarter in the minds of company officials.
He says the season that falls into the second quarter historically has been a challenging one. Potts says there were some positives in being able to keep the workforce busy, which is a high priority.
Potts says the company is disappointed with the results but felt it had to increase discounts and continue with aggressive pricing strategies in order to boost the number of vehicles sold. He says though that has put the company into a better position with its sales backlog compared to last year.
He says the 2012 line is for the most part sold out or spoken for, a position that the company usually doesn’t find itself in until the summer months. Potts says the company is heading in the right direction with the current economic situation.
He says the fact the company is still in a challenging market that is at about 50% of what’s considered normal, and coming out of the second quarter in the shape the company did, he thinks it speaks well for the company. For the quarter ending February 25th, Winnebago’s net loss amounted to three cents per share.
It had reported net income of $3.3-million or 11 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City