THO - Thor Industries' cautious commentary overshadows earnings beat

Thor Industries ( NYSE: THO ) shares fell in premarket action on Wednesday despite a big earnings beat for its fiscal first quarter.

The company cruised past Q1 earnings estimates, notching $2.53 in earnings per share on $3.11B in revenue. Those figures came in $0.76 and $240M above respective analyst consensus. Gross margin contracted 90 basis points from the comparable period in fiscal 2022.

“Following a record fiscal 2022, the RV market has been negatively affected by macroeconomic headwinds impacting our consumers and independent dealers,” CEO Bob Martin commented. “Our first quarter results reflect the flexibility and disciplined execution of our teams to respond to dynamic market conditions.”

He said that the company is working to augment production levels with “the pace of softening retail sales” in fiscal 2023. Inventory right-sizing is expected to be a task of paramount importance for the company to pursue in the full year. Inventory levels rose about 5.5% year over year.

“Aligning our production with the shifting retail environment has been, and will continue to be, key to our success in the temporary softening of our market,” Martin said. “To be sure, the retail environment is being impacted by inflation and monetary policy driving higher interest rates. THOR is built to perform in these shifting conditions, with an unparalleled track record within the industry.”

For the full-year, management anticipates net sales between $11.5B to $12.5B against a consensus of $11.69B. Meanwhile, the company expects between $7.40 and $8.70 in earnings per share against a consensus of $8.34.

Shares of the Elkhart, Indiana-based RV manufacturer fell 1.5% in premarket trading as the commentary on slowing sales and macro pressures caught the market's attention.

Dig into the details of the print .

For further details see: