Marine Products 4Q earnings miss while Marinemax’s fiscal 1Q earnings beat Street

The motorized boat sector threw up mixed earnings Wednesday and at least one boat maker blamed tariffs for taking a bite out of international recreational boat sales.

For the quarter ended December 2018, Marine Products Corp (NYSE:MPX) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.14 per share on revenue of $62.1 million. The consensus earnings estimate was $0.19 per share on revenue of $70.4 million.

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Revenue for the Atlanta-based recreational boat maker fell 5.4% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

“Marine Products’ US domestic sales declined slightly during the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the prior year,” said Marine Products CEO Richard A Hubbell. “However, our international sales decreased by more than 50% compared to the prior year, to 3.2% of total sales, due in large part to the impact of trade tariffs that were enacted during 2018.”

The boat maker said the full “impact of the decline” in international sales was “partially offset” by an increase in domestic sales of several of its larger boats, including the larger Chaparral H2O and SSX models and one of its 24-foot Robalo models.

Marine Products manufactures fiberglass motorized boats which are distributed and marketed through its independent dealer network. Its product offerings include the Chaparral sterndrive boat and the Robalo outboard sport fishing boats.

Shares in Marine Products were down 0.23% to $17.17 in premarket trade Wednesday.

MarineMax first-quarter numbers​

Meanwhile, MarineMax Inc (NYSE:HZO) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $241.9 million. The consensus earnings estimates was $0.14 per share on revenue of $247.7 million. Revenue grew 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

The company said it continues to expect fiscal 2019 earnings of $1.85 to $1.95 per share. The current consensus earnings estimate is $1.92 per share for the year ending September 30, 2019.

“Our customer centric approach, combined with having the right products, along with our team’s strong execution, contributed meaningfully to our efforts to produce a record quarter of sustained cash flow and earnings in our December quarter,” said MarineMax CEO W. Brett McGill.

McGill said the boat maker “outperformed” relative to its historical expectations for the December quarter as “our mix of sales in the quarter was fairly balanced across all segments, with an edge toward larger product.”

Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, MarineMax is one of America’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailers. MarineMax sells new and used recreational boats and related marine products and services as well as provides yacht brokerage and charter services.

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive 

Story by ProactiveInvestors