Boat manufacturers and dealers dropped as MasterCraft Boat Holdings Inc.’s weaker-than-expected sales forecast stoked concern over waning consumer demand and elevated inventories.
The maker of powerboats tumbled as much as 23% on Wednesday, the most intraday since March 2020, as it projected a steep year-over-year decline in net sales. Boat manufacturers Malibu Boats Inc., Brunswick Corp. and Marine Products Corp. also slid, as did retailer MarineMax Inc.
“Macroeconomic factors, including elevated interest rates as well as tightening credit standards and availability, are creating significant uncertainty which is limiting our retail demand visibility,” MasterCraft Chief Executive Officer Fred Brightbill said in a statement.
Retail sales also slowed as MasterCraft’s fiscal fourth quarter progressed, leaving dealers with inventory levels that Brightbill described as higher than optimal.
In addition to the soft sales outlook, MasterCraft’s fiscal-year forecast for adjusted Ebitda fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations. Peer Malibu Boats on Tuesday also provided annual profit guidance that Truist Securities analyst Michael Swartz called weaker than anticipated.
Still, in an encouraging sign, Malibu Boats CEO Jack Springer said during the company’s earnings call that a July sales event sparked a larger-than-expected jump in boat sales.
“We continue to believe underlying boat demand is there,” B. Riley Securities analyst Eric Wold wrote in a note to clients. But with current economic and interest rate pressures, manufacturers and dealers need to be “increasingly creative to complete the sale,” he said.
