MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. reports Fiscal 2020 third quarter results

by George Steinbarger 6 May 2020 19:54 PDT

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MCFT) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 third quarter ended March 29, 2020.

Third Quarter Highlights:

• Pulled back production rate in early March and suspended production in late March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Net sales for the third quarter decreased to $102.6 million, down 20.1 percent from $128.4 million in the prior-year period, due to reduced production in anticipation of slower retail demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Enhanced our liquidity, as a precautionary measure, by having drawn down $35.0 million revolving credit facility and finalizing a proposed amendment to our credit facility to provide additional flexibility.
• GAAP diluted net loss was $(36.7) million or $(1.96) per share, including $56.4 million, or $(3.01) per share, of noncash goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges related to NauticStar and Crest ("Impairment Charges").
• Diluted Adjusted Net Income per share, a non-GAAP measure, was $0.46 compared to $0.78 in the prior-year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, declined 36.2 percent to $14.0 million from $21.9 million in the prior-year period.

Fred Brightbill, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us have been forced to adapt to new challenges that have impacted our families, our work, and our day-to-day lives. I want to thank the MasterCraft team for their hard work and commitment to our Company. I know it has been a challenging last few weeks, and I am incredibly proud of how our team has come together to support one another and continue delivering on our commitment to our customers even as production was halted. We have a strong foundation, a resilient business model and a long-term plan to drive value and grow our market share, and I am confident that MasterCraft will come out of this situation stronger than ever."

Brightbill continued, "The third quarter delivered some unprecedented challenges and required us to focus on ensuring the health and well-being of our employees while remaining focused on meeting our dealers' and consumers' needs. Retail demand across all our brands started the third quarter off on a strong note, with very healthy performance and strong momentum in January, February, and early March, prior to the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. Our pre-pandemic dealer inventory levels were down across all our brands, which would have positioned us to close out fiscal 2020 with optimal levels for growth in fiscal 2021 and beyond. While we are disappointed with the negative impact the pandemic had on our third quarter results, we believe that the resilient retail results experienced across all our brands since early-March is a clear indicator that we have the right strategy in place to deliver growth and value creation over the long-term."

Third Quarter Results

Net Sales for the third quarter were $102.6 million, a decrease of $25.8 million, or 20.1 percent, compared to $128.4 million for the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily due to:

• a proactive decrease in unit production in anticipation of potential impact on retail demand from the COVID-19 pandemic;
• a continued reduction in unit sales volumes across each of our reportable segments to allow our dealers to right-size pipeline inventory levels;
• partially offset by the addition of our new Aviara brand.

Gross profit decreased $10.1 million, or 32.2 percent, to $21.3 million compared to $31.4 million for the prior-year period, principally driven by the lower unit sales volumes for each reportable segment, $1.5 million of compensation and employee benefit costs related to our temporary shutdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and higher sales discounts.

The decrease in consolidated gross margin percentage is primarily attributable to a decrease in overhead absorption due to the lower unit sales volumes across each reportable segment, the transitory $1.5 million of COVID-19 shutdown costs, and higher sales discounts.

Operating expenses increased $55.6 million, or 430.9 percent, to $68.5 million for the third quarter compared to $12.9 million for the prior-year period. This increase was due to the $56.4 of Impairment Charges, partially offset by lower incentive compensation costs.

Net loss for the third quarter was $(36.7) million, or $(1.96) per share, compared to Net income of $12.8 million, or $0.68 per share, for the prior-year period. Adjusted Net Income of $8.6 million, or 0.46 per share, on a fully diluted, weighted average share count of 18.9 million shares, was computed using the company's estimated annual effective tax rate of approximately 23.0 percent. This compares to Adjusted Net Income of $14.6 million, or 0.78 per fully diluted share, in the prior-year period.

Adjusted EBITDA was $14.0 million for the third quarter, compared to $21.9 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.6 percent, down from 17.0 percent in prior-year period principally due to lower unit sales volumes.

See "Non-GAAP Measures" below for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Net Income per share to the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.

Outlook

Concluded Brightbill, "While COVID-19 presented many challenges for MasterCraft in the third quarter, we believe that we have implemented a plan to manage through the near-term headwinds, and position the Company for success as the economy begins to re-open. We firmly believe the steps we have taken during the pandemic, including the enhanced financial flexibility gained from our cost-cutting measures and a proposed amendment to our credit facility will position MasterCraft for success throughout the transition and beyond. We anticipate that we will finalize the proposed credit amendment later this week, which will include temporary relief under our financial covenants."

As previously disclosed, given the economic uncertainty around the business impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has withdrawn the fiscal 2020 guidance contained in its second-quarter earnings press release and conference call on February 5, 2020. The Company will revisit its decision to provide detailed sales and earnings guidance when visibility to accurately estimate its future results improves.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. will host a live conference call and webcast to discuss third quarter 2020 results today, May 6, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. To access the call, dial (800) 219-6861 (domestic) or (574) 990-1024 (international) and provide the operator with the conference ID 6299559. Please dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the call. To access the live webcast, go to the investor section of the company's website, www.mastercraft.com, on the day of the conference call and click on the webcast icon.

For an audio replay of the conference call, dial (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international) and enter audience passcode 6299559. The audio replay will be available beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.