Fleetwood Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Revenues
3 May 2000
Fleetwood Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Revenues
RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 3 Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.
(NYSE: FLE), the nation's leading manufacturer of recreational vehicles and a
leading producer and retailer of manufactured housing, today announced
preliminary sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 30, 2000.
Revenues for fiscal year 2000 reached an all-time high of $3.71 billion,
six percent ahead of the prior year, as a result of record recreational
vehicle sales and the continuing expansion of the Company's retail housing
business. In the fourth quarter, weak market conditions in the manufactured
housing industry led to a six percent decline in total Company revenues from
$948 million to $891 million.
Fleetwood RV revenues for the year climbed 11 percent to a new high of
$1.91 billion, with all product segments generating record volume. Motor home
sales rose 13 percent to $1.20 billion, primarily due to higher revenues from
sales of larger Class A models. In the towable categories, both travel
trailer and folding trailer sales were up seven percent to $590 million and
$124 million, respectively.
Sales growth for recreational vehicles slowed in the fourth quarter as
revenues dipped slightly from $500 million to $498 million. Motor home
revenues of nearly $310 million were about one percent behind last year's
comparable quarter. Sales were slightly improved for towable products as a
result of higher volume for folding trailers. Travel trailer sales of $157
million were virtually identical to year ago sales, but folding trailers rose
seven percent to a record $31 million.
Fleetwood President Nelson W. Potter said, "Fourth quarter RV sales did
not meet our expectations, mainly due to slower wholesale demand for motor
homes. Motor home retail sales have not measured up to last year's strong
fourth quarter, and this has given rise to a slowdown in factory shipments.
We are seeing signs that motor home retail inventories are relatively full as
we enter the peak selling season. Consequently, we anticipate that factory
shipments next quarter will depend entirely on retail sales," Potter said.
Manufactured housing revenues for fiscal year 2000 rose nearly two percent
to approximately $1.75 billion compared to $1.72 billion last year. All of
the revenue gain was due to sales growth from the Company's retail housing
business. Housing revenues in the current year included net sales of $1.16
billion from manufacturing operations and $591 million in retail sales. This
compares with $1.39 billion and $332 million, respectively, in the prior year.
Gross manufacturing revenues in fiscal 2000, including intercompany sales of
$298 million to Company-owned retail centers, totaled $1.45 billion, seven
percent below comparable revenues last year.
In the fourth quarter, manufactured housing revenues declined 13 percent
to $381 million compared to $436 million in the previous year. Fiscal 2000
revenues included net manufacturing sales of $255 million and retail sales of
$126 million. In the prior year, manufacturing revenues net of intercompany
sales totaled $309 million and retail sales were $127 million. Gross
manufacturing revenues in the current quarter, including intercompany sales of
$62 million to Company-owned retail stores, declined 17 percent to $317
million.
"Manufactured housing industry wholesale shipments in the first three
months of calendar year 2000 are off nearly 22 percent due to excessive
inventories at the retail level," Potter said. "Nonetheless, we are
encouraged by the fact that retail buyer interest in manufactured homes
remains high. However, this is tempered by our concern about the rise in
interest rates and more stringent lending standards that have temporarily
prevented many potential customers from buying manufactured homes."
Fleetwood's supply operations contributed revenues of $12 million and $50
million, respectively, for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. This compares
with $12 million and $44 million for the corresponding periods last year.
On April 20, the Company announced that its fourth quarter earnings will
be below the comparable prior year quarter, and will also fall 30 to 40
percent short of analysts' expectations. This was mainly attributed to a
difficult manufactured housing market and the recent slowdown in RV sales.
Final sales and earnings for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year will
be reported by the Company in about four weeks.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and
information based on the beliefs of the Company's management as well as
assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's
management. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with
respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions, including risk factors identified in the Company's SEC filings.
Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof.