Marine Products reports Q4, year-end financial results

ATLANTA –– Marine Products Corporation announced its unaudited results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2014.  Marine Products is a leading manufacturer of fiberglass boats under two brand names: Chaparral and Robalo. Chaparral builds sterndrive, jet drive and outboard pleasure boats, including H2O Sport and Fish & Ski Boats, SSi and SSX Sportboats, Sunesta WT Sportdecks, Signature Cruisers, SunCoast Sportdeck outboards and Vortex Jet Boats.  Robalo builds outboard sport fishing boats which include center console, dual console, walkaround cabin and Cayman bay boat models.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Marine Products generated net sales of $37,441,000, a 5.9 percent decrease compared to $39,786,000 in the same period of the prior year.  The decrease in net sales was due to lower unit sales during the quarter as compared to the prior year.

Gross profit for the quarter was $7,434,000, or 19.9 percent of net sales, a 2.9 percent decrease compared to gross profit of $7,655,000, or 19.2 percent of net sales, in the same period of the prior year.  Gross profit for the fourth quarter declined compared to the prior year due to lower net sales for the quarter, partially offset by improved margins compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Operating profit for the quarter was $2,537,000, a decrease of 7.9 percent compared to $2,756,000 in the fourth quarter of last year.  Selling, general and administrative expenses were $4,897,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, a decrease of less than one percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.  As a percentage of net sales, these expenses increased from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 13.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.   Interest income was $162,000 during the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase compared to $114,000 during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $2,041,000, compared to net income of $2,142,000 for the fourth quarter of 2013, a decrease of 4.7 percent.  Diluted earnings per share were $0.05 in the fourth quarter of 2014, a decrease of $0.01 compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year.

Net sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 were $171,050,000, an increase of 1.6 percent compared to the prior year.  Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014was $8,914,000 or $0.24 earnings per diluted share, compared to net income of $7,528,000, or $0.20 earnings per diluted share in the prior year.

Richard A. Hubbell, Marine Products’ President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We are pleased to report growth at Robalo as well as strong acceptance of our Vortex Jet Boats, a product line that we introduced in 2014.  We are pleased with this model’s reception by dealers and customers.   Our profitability improved due to improved manufacturing efficiencies and a favorable model mix. At the end of the fourth quarter, our dealer inventories were comparable to the end of the fourth quarter 2013 but order backlog was higher.

“Early indications of attendance and sales at the winter boat shows have been positive.  Our sales at these early shows have shown that buyers are interested in larger boats, including larger sterndrive models, which is consistent with our fourth quarter model mix.  In addition, the recent steep decline in fuel prices and positive data regarding U.S. unemployment and consumer confidence are encouraging indicators for the strength of the upcoming retail selling season.  Based on these factors, as well as our healthy order backlog, we will increase production during the first quarter to meet this anticipated higher demand,” concluded Hubbell.

 

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