After a record-setting fiscal year, Winnebago Industries is off to a good start for Fiscal Year 2022. The Forest City-based outdoor lifestyle products manufacturer saw revenues for the first quarter ending November 27th were a record $1.2 billion, an increase of 46% compared to the same quarter a year ago.
President and CEO Michael Happe credits acquisitions of other companies in recent years to Winnebago’s continued success.
“The catalyst continues to be our Grand Design RV brand, which consistently delivers record results and outstanding support for our dealers and in consumers,” Happe says. “Newmar branded diesel motorhome share and Winnebago brand towables growth also contributed nicely.”
More people have been exploring the outdoors since the start of the pandemic, and a recent industry survey says 9.6 million additional households say they are considering purchasing a recreational vehicle in the next five years. Happe says the company should be able to take advantage of that projected demand.
“We fully recognize that not all these potential customers will actually buy a recreational vehicle, but we do agree that future demand will be reasonably sustained at higher historical levels in large part because of consumer interest and participation in the outdoors being at all-time highs,” he says.
Happe says the company is now fully reaping the benefits of its 2018 purchase of Chris-Craft boats and this year’s acquisition of the Barletta pontoon boats company. This quarter marks the first time the company is reporting separate figures for the marine segment, with revenues being $79.3 million in the first quarter.
“Our marine segment is performing well and in line with the high expectations we have for Barletta,” Happe says. “The results highlight the strength of the pontoon market and Barletta’s unique offering in strong brand affinity, which has integrated smoothly into our portfolio and delivered on the high growth expectations we anticipated.”
Happe says the company has and will continue to be challenged by supply chain issues.
“While we anticipate the supply chain constraints and inflation to continue, we have found a good cadence in working closely with our suppliers to mitigate the impact as much as possible,” he says.
Shares of Winnebago Industries stock have climbed over the last calendar year from just under $60 at Christmastime 2020 to $70 at the time of today’s quarterly earnings report release.
Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City
