Winnebago Profit And Sales Rise More Than Expected, Boosted By Grand Design Acquisition

Winnebago Industries Inc. reported Wednesday a fiscal third-quarter net profit that rose to $19.4 million, or 61 cents a share, from $14.4 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The recreational vehicle company said the latest results include $10.2 million of amortization expense related to the Grand Design acquisition. The FactSet consensus for GAAP earnings per share was 57 cents. Revenue rose to $476.4 million from $272.1 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $439.9 million. "The performance of our new Grand Design division and the associated integration activities continue to meet and even exceed our expectations, and are certainly accelerating our diversification within the still-growing North American RV industry," said Chief Executive Michael Happe. "We delivered strong improvement in gross margin, driven primarily by the overall shift of revenues to our more profitable Towables Segment." The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has dropped 7.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.9%.