Components and accessories manufacturer Dometic last week posted the results of its fiscal first quarter.
Net sales were SEK$6.52 billion ($599.4 million), a decrease of 10% over the year-ago quarter. Operating profit was down SEK$78 million ($7.2 million) to SEK$769 million ($70.6 million). Organic net sales in the OEM channel declined in all segments except Land Vehicles.
“The first quarter result was further evidence of our transition to a more effective, better-balanced and, thereby, more resilient company,” president and CEO Juan Vargues said in a statement. “We delivered an improved EBITA margin for the third consecutive quarter despite a challenging market environment impacted by geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.”
Earnings before interest, taxes and amortization improved to 11.8% from 11.6% in the prior-year quarter, buoyed by efficiency improvements and cost reduction programs. Operating cash flow for the quarter was SEK$212 million ($19.5 million).
Vargues provided the following guidance for the remainder of 2024:
“Our planning assumptions from 2023 remain largely unchanged; we anticipate the recovery in demand in the service and aftermarket sales channel to continue in 2024. In the distribution sales channel, we expect a continued gradual recovery [in] coming quarters as retail inventories decline. In the OEM sales channel, we foresee a continued weak demand short-term but with an improvement towards the end of the year.”
