— Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE: THO) reported its first-quarter 2020 earnings of $0.92 per share versus $1.23 per share expected.
— Net sales grew by 23% to $2.16 billion versus $2.23 billion expected. This was due to the inclusion of $493 million in net sales from Erwin Hymer Group, which was acquired on February 1, 2019.
— North American Towable RV sales declined by 6% due to lower unit shipment volume, as independent dealers continued to reduce their inventory levels. North American Motorized RV sales decreased by 4% due primarily to a shift in product mix towards lower-priced products.
— European RV sales were $493.0 million for the first quarter. European RV backlog was $1.29 billion as of October 31, 2019, reflecting current levels of demand within the European market.
— Thor expects the independent dealer inventory rationalization to be complete by the end of the calendar year and believes this process, in both North America and Europe, has largely run its course.
— The outlook for North American markets is to remain relatively flat, or decline modestly, in fiscal 2020, barring a significant macroeconomic change, with the potential for better results should retail demand strengthen.
— For the European retail market, the company expects to see modest growth similar to fiscal 2019.
— The company believes to achieve $14 billion in annual net sales, attains sustainable gross margins of 16%, and generates more than $3 billion in cumulative net cash from operations by the end of fiscal 2025.
