Marine Products Corporation reports 7.6% increase in net sales
Chaparral marine products corporation
Marine Products Corporation has reported a 7.6% increase in net sales compared to the previous year, in its unaudited results, for the final quarter of 2021.
The increase was due to a 21.1% increase in the average selling price per boat, partially offset by a decrease of 11.1% in the number of boats sold.
Average selling prices increased primarily due to model year. In spite of strong dealer and consumer demand, unit sales decreased in most of the company’s product categories compared to the prior year due to significant supply chain difficulties.
Marine Products manufactures fibreglass boats under the brand names of Chaparral and Robalo.
“The majority of our sales during the fourth quarter of 2021 were of 2022 model year boats, which generated higher average selling prices due to a continued shift in model mix and new model year pricing,” says Richard A. Hubbell, Marine Products’ president and chief executive officer. “Our fourth quarter results also reflect the formidable challenges presented by supply chain problems and the recent covid surge. Although dealer and consumer demand once again continued beyond our traditional retail selling season, our unit sales did not fully reflect this positive trend. Dealer inventories remain at historically low levels, and order backlog and sales demand indications continue to extend beyond our current model year’s projected production. These issues also continued to increase our working capital requirements.
“During the fourth quarter we continued to work with our suppliers to develop realistic delivery schedules in order to plan our production schedules and manage production efficiency. Supply chain problems negatively impacted fourth quarter production and deliveries, and unfortunately, these concerns will continue to impact our operations during the first quarter of 2022. We value our employees’ well-being, and earlier in the year we began to provide on-site covid testing and vaccination services for our employees. In spite of employees’ enthusiastic response to these initiatives, however, the surge in covid cases over the past few months has impacted employee attendance at least during the first quarter of 2022.
“As we manage these issues, we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for recreational boating. Dealer and consumer demand remain strong for the foreseeable future. We also are finding that consumer preferences are migrating towards larger boats. Our 2022 model year lineup was developed in response to that demand, and it is positively impacting our financial results,” says Hubbell. “I am also pleased to report continued dominant market share in our two propulsion categories and size ranges.”
Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $19,158,000, a 9.9% increase compared to $17,431,000 the fourth quarter of the prior year.
