Marine Products Corp. had third-quarter net sales of $77.8 million, a 22% decline from $100.1 million in the prior-year quarter. The Chaparral and Robalo parent said the decrease was due to a 24% reduction in boats sold and was partially offset by a 5% increase in average selling price.
Average selling price per boat increased primarily due to a favorable model mix and, to a lesser extent, price increases to cover higher costs of materials and components, the company said in a statement. Unit sales decreased during the quarter because production has been adjusted to align more with demand, including seasonally lower dealer demand during the third quarter.
“Our third quarter results reflect the reduction in production and delivery rates due to normalization of retail boat demand that has occurred during 2023, following significant post-Covid demand,” president and CEO Ben M. Palmer said in the statement. “Dealer inventories are reasonable by historical standards and remain below prepandemic levels, and we have firm production scheduled into 2024.”
Gross profit for the third quarter was $19.2 million, compared with $25 million in the same period last year. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 24.7%, a slight decline from 25% in 2022. Selling, general and administrate expenses were $8.8 million, which was down from $10.3 million in 2022. This was due to costs that vary with sales and profitability, including incentive compensation, sales commission and warranty expense. These expenses made up 11.3% of net sales in the quarter.
Net sales for the nine months ended Sept. 30 were $312.9 million, a 15% increase compared with the first nine months of 2022. Net income was $36.3 million, which was up from $28.5 million in the previous year.
