RV and marine accessories manufacturer Patrick Industries reported net sales of $781 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 18% year-over-year. The company said the drop was due to lower OEM wholesale unit shipments and lower pricing passed on to customers to reflect changes in commodity costs.
Operating margin for the quarter improved 20 basis points to 7.3%, “reflecting the continued benefits of our diversification strategy, successful labor management and cost control, and continuous improvement and automation initiatives,” the company said in a statement. Operating margin for the full year was 7.5%.
Operating income of $57 million was a 15% decline from $68 million in the year-prior quarter, and net income was $31 million, a decrease of 23%.
Patrick repaid $260 million of debt last year and reduced inventory by $158 million from year-end 2022.
“Our team performed impressively, despite RV wholesale unit shipments hitting 10-year lows in 2023 and emerging marine headwinds that resulted in an almost 30% decline in marine wholesale shipment run rates in the second half of 2023 compared with the first half of the year,” CEO Andy Nemeth said in the statement.
The company said RV represents 45% of fourth-quarter revenues at $353 million, a decline of 14%.
Marine comprised 22% of fourth-quarter revenues at $174 million, a decline of 32%. Full year estimated content per wholesale powerboat unit decreased 5% to $4,803.
For the full year, Patrick had net sales of $3.5 billion, a decrease of 29% year-over-year, reflecting the impact of a 37% decline in RV shipments and a 7% decline in marine wholesale shipments.
Operating income of $260 million was down 48% compared with 2022, and operating margin of 7.4% declined 270 basis points from 10.2% in the previous year. Net income of $143 decreased 56%.
