Marine Products Corporation Reports 2002 Third Quarter Results |
ATLANTA, Oct 21, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Marine Products Corporation (Amex: MPX) announced its unaudited results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2002. Marine Products is a leading manufacturer of fiberglass boats under two brand names: sterndrive pleasure boats by Chaparral, including SS Sportboats, Sunesta Deckboats, and Signature Cruisers, and offshore sport fishing boats by Robalo.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2002, Marine Products generated net sales of $41,551,000, a 44 percent increase compared to $28,806,000 last year. The increase in net sales was due to a 28 percent increase in the number of boats sold as well as a 12 percent increase in the average selling price per boat. Gross profit for the quarter was $9,698,000, a 61 percent increase over the same period in 2001. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 23.3 percent, an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2001. Gross profit improvement was due to higher overall volume, favorable product mix and efficiency at Chaparral, slightly offset by the inefficiencies of low production volumes at Robalo. Robalo boat production began in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Operating income for the quarter was $5,211,000, a 100 percent increase compared to the third quarter last year. The higher gross profit was slightly offset by higher selling, general and administrative expenses including the incremental costs associated with the new Robalo product line and costs that vary with sales and profitability. These variable costs include incentive compensation costs, such as sales commissions and officer bonus, and warranty expense.
Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 was $3,340,000, a 95 percent increase compared to $1,709,000 in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.19, a 90 percent increase compared to $0.10 diluted earnings per share in the prior year.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased 31,800 shares of its common stock for cash on the open market under its stock buyback program.
Net sales for the nine months ending September 30, 2002 were $127,068,000, a 22 percent increase from the first nine months of fiscal 2001. Net income for the nine-month period increased 34 percent to $9,438,000 or $0.53 diluted earnings per share compared to $7,026,000 or $0.40 diluted earnings per share last year.
Richard A. Hubbell, Marine Products' Chief Executive Officer stated, "The strength in our second quarter sales carried through to the third quarter. There continues to be a strong demand for our products, especially compared with the year ago quarter. Third quarter began with a successful annual dealer conference in August. We booked over 10 percent more dealer orders than last year, and we plan on filling these initial orders before the start of the winter boat show season. This will permit us to fill orders more quickly based on the results of the upcoming boat shows.
"Based on the most recent Statistical Survey results, Chaparral continued to gain market share within the sterndrive marketplace during the first six months of 2002. We will continue to use Marine Products' strong capital position and cash flow generating potential to generate market share growth.
Hubbell continued, "Our average unit sales price rose by 12 percent during the quarter, due to a relative increase in unit sales of our higher-end new model SS Sportboats, additional sales of larger Signature Cruisers, and the new Robalo sales. Sales of Robalo offshore sport fishing boats were approximately 2.9 percent of third quarter 2002 sales. We continue to monitor our fixed costs and are pleased to report that our third quarter S,G&A expenses as a percentage of sales decreased from 12% in 2001 to 11% in 2002.
"As planned, we successfully initiated production in our new cruiser and large sportboat plant. This is a larger plant that will facilitate more efficient production of our larger boats and allow us to capture other efficiency enhancements.
"Our level of dealer inventories is slightly lower than it was last year at this time, but the sales environment for our products is much more favorable. We remain cautious about the potential effect of declining consumer confidence on our sales for the remainder of the calendar year and will leverage our participation in the winter boat show season to monitor retail demand through the fourth quarter and into 2003."
Marine Products Corporation (Amex: MPX) is the third-largest distributor of sterndrive powerboats in the U.S. The company designs, manufactures and distributes premium-branded Chaparral sterndrive pleasure boats and Robalo outboard offshore fishing boats, and continues to diversify its product line through product innovation and strategic acquisition. With premium brands and a solid capital structure, Marine Products Corporation is prepared to capitalize on opportunities to increase its market share and to generate superior financial performance to build long-term shareholder value. For more information on Marine Products Corporation visit www.marineproductscorp.com .
Certain statements and information included in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding Chaparral's ability to gain market share, the outlook for the industry, and our ability to continue to expand our product lines and increase production efficiency. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Marine Products Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks include the level of consumer confidence and uncertainty regarding sales seasonality. Additional discussion of factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is contained in Marine Products' Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ending December 31, 2001.
** See attachment for entire release ** |
Oct 21, 2002 |
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