By Senad Karaahmetovic
THOR Industries (NYSE:THO) is down nearly 10% after the manufacturer of recreational vehicles said it has experienced "a significant slowdown of both sales and production," which results in weaker-than-expected results for the fiscal second quarter.
THOR posted EPS of $0.50 on revenue of $2.35 billion, missing the average analyst estimate for a profit of $1.01 per share on revenue of $2.45B. The gross margin was reported at 12.1%, below the 13.7% expected.
"Our fiscal second quarter presented a challenging market environment," said Bob Martin, President and CEO of THOR Industries.
"Despite a significant slowdown of both sales and production, we expect the successful execution of our aggressive, proactive actions and our variable cost model to position our operating companies and independent dealer partners favorably heading into the second half of our fiscal 2023, which typically experiences stronger retail activity than our second quarter."
The company added that "near-term demand will continue to be influenced by macroeconomic conditions," although the recent softening in demand is expected to be temporary.
At the midpoint of its full-year guidance, the company sees EPS of $6.00 on revenue of $11B. Analysts were looking for EPS of $7.85 on revenue of $11.5B.
Vital Knowledge analysts said the FY forecast implies just $2.97 in profit per share for the second half of the fiscal year, which is a ~33% shortfall vs. the Street's $4 forecast.