Winnebago Industries still confident in position despite slight drop in profits compared to last year

FOREST CITY — Winnebago Industries says profits for their fiscal second quarter were $21.6 million. The Forest City-based outdoor lifestyle product manufacturer reports that’s down about $500,000 or 2.2% compared to the same period last year.

CEO Michael Happe says despite the drop in numbers from 2018 to 2019, the company continues to be in a very good position.  “While the North American RV industry is experiencing some challenging wholesale headwinds, the unique strength of our two RV brands, Winnebago and Grand Design, and their positions in the market has allowed us to dramatically outpace the industry. And we are seeing small but strategically important benefits from our new marine play in Chris-Craft.”

Happe says what he’s most pleased with is the company’s growing RV market share.  “SSI Retail in the standalone month of January 2019 showed our company with a market share position of 10% in RVs. This is significant progress, in fact three times greater from a position of under 3% just three years ago.”

Happe says they are continuing to see positive things after the acquisition of the recreational boat builder Chris-Craft last year. “We continue to see strong traffic and demand for our marine products as demonstrated by the turnout that we saw at the Miami Boat Show in mid-February which exceeded our expectations. Consumers are showing tremendous interest in the Chris-Craft brand and its recent new products, and it’s translating into positive sales and shipment trends for that brand.”

Winnebago posted revenue of $432.7 million, a decrease of 7.6% compared to the same period a year ago, topping Wall Street expectations.