Thor Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Sales, Net Income, E.P.S.

JACKSON CENTER, Ohio, Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) announced results for the first quarter ended October 31, 2010.  Sales for the quarter were $606,684,000, up 21% from $502,552,000 last year.  After expenses including those related to the acquisition of Heartland RV on September 16, 2010, net income for the quarter was $23,688,000, up 1% from $23,429,000 last year.  E.P.S. for the quarter were $0.44 versus $0.42 last year.  

RV sales in the quarter were $506,563,000, up 30% from $389,929,000 last year.  Towable RV sales in the quarter were $422,449,000, up 23% from $342,136,000 last year.  Towable RV sales for the quarter ended October 31, 2010 include $50,119,000 of sales from Heartland RV.  Motorized RV sales in the quarter were $84,114,000, up 76% from $47,793,000 last year.  Bus segment sales in the quarter were $100,121,000, down 11% from $112,623,000 last year.  

RV income before tax in the quarter was $34,104,000, up 8% from $31,642,000 last year.  Towable RV income before tax in the quarter was $33,100,000 up 5% from $31,540,000 last year.  Motorized RV income before tax in the quarter was $1,004,000, up significantly from $102,000 last year.  Bus segment income before tax in the quarter was $9,419,000, up 12% from $8,380,000 last year.  Corporate net costs were $9,737,000 in the quarter versus $2,769,000 last year and included legal and professional expenses related to the acquisition of Heartland RV and the company's ongoing SEC review totaling $3,503,000.  In the towable RV segment, margins were adversely impacted by purchase accounting costs related to the Heartland acquisition, including expensing of inventory step-up costs, amortization of Heartland's backlog, and amortization of certain intangible assets totaling $2,477,000.  In the motorized RV segment, the company incurred a trademark impairment charge of  $2,036,000 related to the combination of its Thor Motor Coach operations. Bus segment margins were positively impacted by a gain on involuntary conversion related to property and business interruption insurance.  Thor's lower tax rate in the quarter reflects a favorable state tax settlement.

"In the first quarter Thor invested heavily in growth and future profitability through the acquisition of Heartland RV, capital expenditures of approximately $16,500,000, and development of exciting new products which will be shown at this week's RVIA Expo in Louisville, KY," said Peter B. Orthwein, Thor chairman.  "Beyond the costs related to Thor's acquisition of Heartland RV, gross margins were impacted by increased discounting as dealers remained cautious entering the slowest season of the year.  Thor's retail RV sales continue to be strong which is encouraging," he added.

Thor is the world's largest manufacturer of recreation vehicles and a major builder of commercial buses.

This release includes certain statements that are "forward looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward looking statements involve uncertainties and risks. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from our expectations. Factors which could cause materially different results include, among others, additional issues that may arise in connection with the findings of the completed investigation by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Thor Industries, Inc. (the "Company") and the SEC's requests for additional information and the discussion of possible settlement with the SEC relating to the matters raised by the Audit Committee's investigation, fuel prices, fuel availability, lower consumer confidence, interest rate increases, tight lending practices, increased material costs, the success of new product introductions, the pace of acquisitions, cost structure improvements, the impact of auction market failures on our liquidity, competition and general economic conditions and the other risks and uncertainties discussed more fully in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2010  and Part II, Item 1A of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended October 31, 2010. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in this release or to reflect any change in the Company's expectations after the date of this release or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based except as required by law.

SOURCE Thor Industries, Inc.