Malibu Boats Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 2, 2024

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Malibu Boats Conference Call to discuss Third Quarter Fiscal Year 20 24 Results. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will follow at that time. Please be advised that the reproduction of this call in whole or in part is not permitted without written authorization of Malibu Boats. And as a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

Operator

On the call today from management are Mr. Jack Springer, Chief Executive Officer Mr. Michael Hooks, Chief Executive Chair Mr. Bruce Beckman, Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Ritchie Anderson, Chief Operating Officer.

Operator

I will turn the call over to Mr. Beckman to get started. Please go ahead, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. A press release covering the company's fiscal Q3 2024 results was issued today, and a copy of that press release can be found in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. I also want to remind everyone that management's remarks on this call may contain certain forward looking statements, including predictions, expectations, estimates and other information that might be considered forward looking and that actual results could differ materially from those projected on today's call. You should not place undue reliance on these forward looking statements, which seek only as of today, and the company undertakes no obligation to update them for any new information or future events. Factors that might affect future results are discussed in our filings with the SEC, and we encourage you to review our SEC filings for a more detailed description of these risk factors.

Speaker 1

Please also note that we will be referring to certain non GAAP financial measures on today's call, such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted fully distributed net income and adjusted fully distributed net income per share. Reconciliations of these non GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release. I will now turn the call over to Michael Hooks, Executive Chairman of Malibu Boats. Michael?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Bruce. As you have seen from today's earnings release, we have several topics to discuss, including our results for the Q3 of fiscal year 'twenty four, which Jack and I will discuss in more detail. And as usual, Bruce will guide you through the financials. But first, I'd like to hand the mic over to Jack, who will be participating in his final earnings call with us today. Jack?

Speaker 3

Thank you, Michael, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the call. By now, you know that I'm stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of Malibu Boats in the coming weeks. This was not a step I took lightly because my connection with and passion for Malibu Boats, our customers and our teams run very deep. As CEO, I wanted to reflect on my journey with this incredible company.

Speaker 3

My career at Malibu has spanned a decade and a half through both great and challenging times. When I joined Malibu in 2,009, we were in the depths of the Great Recession with volumes off by 70% and EBITDA less than breakeven. While it was a risk at the time for me, the opportunity, the brand and the people made the difference in my decision to join Malibu. We began our journey of professionalization of the company, focusing on compelling new product, embarking on vertical integration and improving our distribution network. These initiatives among others have driven the dividends that we have all realized.

Speaker 3

I thank Michael for the opportunity

Speaker 4

and his support through the years.

Speaker 3

I have tremendous appreciation for all of the team members who have worked side by side with me over 15 years. And I specifically want to express my thanks to Rigi Anderson, Debbie Kent and Lane Wilson who have made MBI's success possible and who have made me better. Finally, it always comes back to the people who make the company. They have been tremendous for 15 years, and I thank the many thousands who have spent part of their lives making MBI what it is today. It has truly been an honor for me to serve as the CEO of Malibu Boats and shape its strategic course that led to our IPO in 2014 as well as a significant growth and profitability that followed.

Speaker 3

What we have achieved was only possible with the trust of our customers, our incredible dealers, the terrific work of our team members and the support of our shareholders. I am immensely grateful. I want to thank all of you for your confidence in MDI. This team under the guidance of Michael, Richie, Bruce and the rest of the executive leadership team will continue to deliver results and position the company to execute through the uncharted waters ahead. With that, I will now move on to our Q3 results.

Speaker 3

Malibu Boat executed despite another challenging quarter amidst ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty as retail activity has remained weak during the selling season. For the 3rd fiscal quarter, net sales decreased 46% to 203,400,000 compared to the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA fell 69 percent to $24,400,000 Gross margins decreased 650 basis points to 20% and adjusted EBITDA margin to 12% from 21.1%. Similar to last quarter, we experienced a weakened retail environment characterized by lingering uncertainty and softened retail demand. The customer continues to be very patient.

Speaker 3

They know inventory is available as they search for the best deal possible. In addition, credit buyers remain on the sidelines as interest rate pressures impact purchase decisions for entry level boats. As we enter the peak selling season for freshwater, we will be monitoring the situation very closely. Historically, we know that the market can correct on a dime and we will be ready to support this growth as the tide turns. We'll state that during the downturn, we expect the strength of our product development and distribution to be manifested in increased market share.

Speaker 3

We saw this occur in 2,009 2010 when we increased Malibu's market share by almost 50%. We are seeing share gains in our brands again today. In their respective competitive segments, CohBar's has gained 400 basis points of share in the last 12 months and now commands a 35% share in the sterndrive market. Pursuit has gained 220 basis points of share on a trailing 12 month basis and Pathfinder has realized over 400 basis points of market share increase in its competitive segment. Both Malibu and Covia are equal to last year on a trailing 12 month basis, and we expect both brands market share to grow over the coming months.

Speaker 3

As channel inventory decreases and competitors with higher weeks on hand of inventory come back to normal, the strength of our product and distribution will shine through. For example, the timing of our new product introductions for Covia will be a prime catalyst in driving market share gains in that brand. We are also seeing some pockets of strength coming out of the boat show season with strong ASPs across all of our brands, but even more so within our saltwater and cobalt segments, which are leading the way. This strong ASP performance, which is better than anticipated, further indicates that the premium buyer is still there, driving retail as the desire for a larger boat and the insatiable demand for features and options continue. Despite these signs of resiliency within our brand portfolio, the reality is that we are currently navigating market conditions that have continued to deteriorate across the industry.

Speaker 3

Growth rates have decelerated in our key categories, notably ski wake and saltwater fishing, while inventories have remained stubbornly high, making dealers reluctant to bring on additional inventory. This is contributed to an increasingly promotional environment. As a response to these heightened pressures, we have had to lower our Q3 and Q4 production and increase our promotional spending more than we previously anticipated, both of which are primary drivers in our adjusted outlook for the full year. While we are currently in our selling season, we do expect to see the decline in inventories accelerate during the peak selling season, which is a positive. Dealers are now delivering boats sold over the last few months and the selling season is in swing, each accelerating the decrease of channel inventory.

Speaker 3

We are actively monitoring the situation very closely and have taken the necessary steps to right size production levels and are prepared to take them down even further to reach our goals of continuing to optimize the channel inventory. In addition, promotional activity is increasing. We believe this will be the case through the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year. While we are not prepared to discuss our plans for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year, we believe with our focus on channel inventory reductions through the remainder of fiscal year 2024, we will be in a better position to match wholesale to retail demand in fiscal year 2025. Going forward, this will position MBI to accelerate our recovery as retail demands regain momentum.

Speaker 3

Our commitment to rightsizing channel inventory levels underscores our proactive approach in navigating market fluctuations, ensuring resilience and agility in the face of an evolving industry dynamic. Despite the challenges, MBI remains prime to navigate short term fluctuations and emerge from any downturn with swiftness and strength. As we have spoken about in the past, our cost structure highly variable and we are demonstrating it again in this environment. Our variable cost of sales is down in the upper 80% range. This is relative to the rate of sales decline in Q3, which is in line with our expectations of an 80% to 90% variable cost structure above the gross margin line.

Speaker 3

Lastly, I would like to provide an update on the progress we have made to further streamline our production capabilities. In the Q3, the Roan County facility experienced a significant ramp up, marking a pivotable moment for Cobalt. As we enter the Q4, we anticipate to further expand operations by adding more models as we our strategy to consolidate Cobalt's small production in Tennessee, while concurrently expanding cruiser capacity at our Kansas facility. This consolidation not only streamlines our operations, but also positions us strategically to optimize future growth and margins by capitalizing on economies of scale. Once these expansions are completed, we will be able to reduce our level of capital expenditures, thus increasing free cash flow.

Speaker 3

I will now turn the call over to Mike.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Jack. Before I get started, I would like to once again thank you for your 15 years of leading Malibu. It's been a privilege to work with you. Echoing Jack, I want to reiterate that our priority has been to get channel inventories to a healthy level and that we've been working diligently to do just that. We believe this benefits Malibu, our dealers and our shareholders.

Speaker 2

And while fiscal 'twenty four has been a challenging operating environment, we are taking the difficult steps needed to put us in that position. While we are not prepared to provide guidance, we are confident that our actions to close out the year put us in a position to realize a meaningful recovery as the retail environment stabilizes. Assuming a flat retail environment next year, we would see substantial improvement in Malibu's financial performance and continued free cash flow generation. Notably, we expect to end this year with 0 debt and a positive cash position. It is worth highlighting that we're able to achieve this all while investing approximately $64,000,000 in CapEx in the 1st 9 months of fiscal 'twenty four as well as having a one time net outflow of 55,000,000 dollars in connection with the settlement of the Batchholder litigation during the fiscal year.

Speaker 2

As we look ahead, it is important not to overlook the strength of our economic model despite the short term headwinds and cyclical nature of the marine industry and some recent events at MBI over the last few months. The fundamentals are still here. Malibu is well positioned with strong margins and the ability to generate substantial free cash flow in almost all environments. As of the end of Q3, we'll have a positive net cash balance of $32,000,000

Speaker 5

Given where we sit

Speaker 2

in the industry cycle, we'd like to remind and illustrate for you the level of profitability and cash generation capacity of our business in more normal times. Once the industry recovers the unit volumes at the average level seen in 2017 to 2019, with our current cost structure, market position brand model mix, we would anticipate revenues of approximately $1,300,000,000 with robust adjusted EBITDA margins of 17.5%, resulting in free cash flow of approximately $130,000,000 The substantial cash generation complemented by our capital our strategic capital allocation priorities positions us favorably to deliver strong total shareholder returns as the market recovers. As a reminder, our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged as we have consistently communicated. 1, invest in high ROI internal investments 2, pursue accretive acquisitions 3, pay down debt and deleverage and 4, return capital to shareholders. So at this time and in keeping with these priorities, we anticipate returning substantially more cash to our shareholders on a regular basis.

Speaker 2

Our $100,000,000 share repurchase authorization remains in place. While we have opportunistically repurchased shares in the past, we intend to return capital more predictably going forward. Commencing with this quarter and running through at least the end of fiscal 2025, we plan to return at least $10,000,000 per quarter or a minimum of $40,000,000 annually in the form of share buybacks and or dividends, and we are implementing a trading plan to effectuate. Additionally, we remain focused on building our M and A pipeline and given our cash flow profile and unlevered balance sheet, we remain primed and ready to pursue accretive acquisitions as they become available. Finally, I'd like to briefly address the lawsuit followed by Tommy's.

Speaker 2

In the litigation, we are unable to provide much detail beyond what we have previously communicated, but we are encouraged by the progress we are making in establishing new dealers in the markets formerly served by Tommy's. We expect minimal disruption in these markets into our family of Malibu end users. I will now turn the call over to Bruce for further remarks on the quarter.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Michael. 3rd quarter results were largely in line with our expectations. Net sales decreased 45.8 percent to $203,400,000 and unit volume decreased 51.9% to $12.60 The decrease in net sales

Speaker 3

was driven

Speaker 1

primarily by decreased unit volumes across all segments resulting from elevated channel inventories, a soft retail demand environment and lower wholesale shipments. The volume impact was partially offset by a favorable model mix across all segments and inflation driven year over year price increases. The Malibu and Axis brands represented 35.6 percent of unit sales, saltwater fishing represented 30 point 0% and Cobalt made up the remaining 34.4%. Consolidated net sales per unit increased 12 point 7% to $160,299 per unit, primarily driven by inflation driven year over year price increases and favorable model mix within our saltwater fishing segment. Gross profit decreased 59.1 percent to $40,300,000 and gross margin decreased 6.50 basis points to 19.8%, driven primarily by lower volume and an unfavorable segment mix.

Speaker 1

Cost of sales decreased 41% in a period where our revenue decreased 46%, demonstrating our operational excellence and highly variable cost structure. Selling and marketing expense decreased 8.7 percent to $6,600,000 in the 3rd quarter. The decrease was driven primarily by decreased travel and marketing spending. As a percentage of sales, selling and marketing expenses increased 130 basis points to 3.2% compared to 1.9% in the prior year. General and administrative expenses decreased 4.4 percent to $18,600,000 The decrease was driven primarily by a decrease in personnel related expenses.

Speaker 1

As a percentage of sales, G and A expenses increased 3.90 basis points to 9.1%. During the quarter, we also recognized a $88,400,000 noncash impairment of goodwill and intangible assets from our acquisition of the Maverick Boat Group in 20 21. This non cash write down is largely due to the vastly different industry landscape we find ourselves in from when this acquisition was completed in 2021. We have gained over 100 basis points of market share under our ownership and remain confident about the future of the MBT business, anchored by our focus on new product, operational efficiency and distribution expansion and our opportunities to drive growth and value from the business as markets recover. GAAP net income for the quarter decreased 226.8 percent to a net loss of $67,800,000 inclusive of the aforementioned $88,400,000 non cash impairment charges relating to Maverick Boat Group.

Speaker 1

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter decreased 69.2 percent to $24,400,000 and adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 12% from 21.1% in the prior year. Adjusted fully distributed net income per share decreased 75.7 percent to $0.63 per share. This is calculated using a normalized C Corp tax rate of 24.5 percent and a fully distributed weighted average share count of approximately 21,000,000 shares. For a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted fully distributed net income per share to GAAP metrics, please see the tables in our earnings release. Turning our attention to cash flow.

Speaker 1

We generated $12,000,000 of free cash flow in Q3. It is notable that we were able to generate this much cash in a quarter where our revenue is down over 40 percent, demonstrating the resilience of our business model. Capital expenditures were $12,000,000 in the quarter, of which 6 $300,000 was associated with our new Cobalt facility in Roan County, Tennessee. For the year, we expect CapEx to be between $65,000,000 $75,000,000 with $45,000,000 for Roan County. As Jack mentioned, with our progress at Roan County largely, we expect tooling and maintenance CapEx of $30,000,000 to $35,000,000 per year going forward.

Speaker 1

Our strong net cash position and ample liquidity positions MDI to deliver on our capital allocation priorities with the dry powder necessary to execute strategic acquisitions while returning cash to our shareholders. In Q4, we will be renewing our shelf registration statement with the SEC to replace our current shelf, which is set to expire in August. We consider this to be good housekeeping and have no existing plans to utilize this renewed authorization. As Jack and Michael mentioned earlier, the retail environment has softened as broader economic fiscal year is our top priority. As we enter the peak selling season, we are increasing promotional support and further reducing our production to proactively help our dealers dealer partners reduce their inventories.

Speaker 1

Again, getting dealer inventories right by the end of the fiscal year is the key to enabling next year's wholesale demand to track with retail demand, which in turn is the key to making next fiscal year a growth year. With this in mind, we are revising our fiscal 2024 outlook. We anticipate a year over year decline in annual net sales ranging from a 40 to 41 percentage point decline. We expect Q4 revenues to be between $150,000,000 100 and and $65,000,000 Consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin for the full fiscal year is expected to be between 10 0.1% and 10.5% with Q4 running essentially at breakeven. While we expect Q4 to be a challenging quarter, the silver lining is we have the financial strength to meet the moment and do what's necessary to reduce dealer inventories during the peak selling season and position us to return to growth next year.

Speaker 1

Cutting through the noise despite our near term challenges, I remain optimistic about the growth potential of Malibu. Our strong balance sheet provides us with stability and flexibility as we navigate through the current environment. Our unwavering commitment to innovation, premium product portfolio, expanded production footprint and robust dealer distribution network position us to achieve great success in capturing market share and driving profitable growth in the years ahead. We have a business model that generates strong cash flow in almost all industry environments. And today's announcement that we will be consistently returning $10,000,000 of cash to shareholders beginning this quarter is tangible evidence of the confidence we have in the power of our cash generation engine despite the uncertainties in the macro environment.

Speaker 1

While we will all miss Jack, I'm excited to collaborate with Michael, Ritchie and the entire Malibu team, leveraging their industry leading expertise as we collectively drive the company forward and deliver strong returns for our shareholders. With that, I'd like to open up the call for questions.

Operator

Our first question comes from Eric Wold with B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thanks and good morning everyone. Just a couple of questions on the same topic. I guess it sounds like from the guidance, your commentary on kind of the reduced guidance for Q4 and the year, is the goal is to kind of almost do anything necessary on the discounting to end the year in a better inventory position. I guess, how far would you be willing to go to stretch that discounting promotional activity to make sure that happens? And then what is the risk that we get into an environment where consumers kind of increasingly expect an elevated level of inventory in 2025 even if kind of demand environment improves, how difficult will it be to kind of decouple those expectations and get back to whatever you would consider to be more normalized discounting?

Speaker 2

Yes. Hi, it's Michael. Thanks for the question. So just you touched on a lot of things. Number 1, our assumptions for this quarter is that we're being aggressive on promotions and also conservative on production.

Speaker 2

So we are moving both of those levers in an effort to bring our inventories to an appropriate level. So I think you correctly assume that's the prime directive. And our guidance assumes we're both aggressive on promotions and conservative on production. So we'll see if that's all necessary. With respect to consumer expectations for next year, I think the look, the consumer is aware today, as Jack said, that there's excess inventory in the channel from us and from others, and they are expecting deals.

Speaker 2

I think as you know in the industry, it's a lot of our promotional activities are done as by providing incentives to the dealer and not reducing the headline price of our units. I think that will mitigate a fair amount in the anticipation of further discounting. I think the consumer is smart enough to realize and our dealers realize that inventories have gotten out of whack to an unusual position. So there's an opportunity, but we're not reducing the headline and nor our dealers, the headline price on these models. I think that covers everything you ask, but if not, fire away.

Speaker 5

No, that's very helpful. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Operator

Our next question comes from Joe Altobello with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good morning. This is actually Martin on for Joe. Just looking at the EBITDA margin for the quarter, it was a bit better than expected. I believe you guided to below 10.9%. Just wondering what drove that EBITDA margin or the outperformance of it?

Speaker 1

Yes. What I would say it was a strong performance in our operations. We talk about our cost structure being 80% to 90% variable with above the gross margin line. And we were we operated at the upper end of that range in Q3. That's the large amount there.

Speaker 3

Got it.

Speaker 4

Thank you. And just a quick question about sort of the dealer network. Outside of Tommy's, how would you characterize it? Is it healthy? And are you confident Tom's is sort of a one off situation?

Speaker 1

I would say yes. I mean we monitor the health of our dealer networks very closely with our floor plan finance providers, talking about them with them all the time on monitoring the health of the network. And as of now, outside of a couple very isolated small situations, we feel very good about the overall health of the dealer network.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you.

Operator

And the next question comes from Craig Kennison with Baird. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. And Jack, best wishes to you. I certainly enjoyed working with

Speaker 2

you. Thank you, Craig.

Speaker 6

Curious about fiscal 20 25. Is there any dynamic whereby dealers are simply saying, I don't want anything in 2024 because we've worked so hard to get rid of 2023. I'll just wait until the 2025 product arrives later this year.

Speaker 3

Craig, we are saying because of the what is happening in retail with the promotions, there are some boats that are starting to move and that channel inventory is going down. And quite frankly, one of the things that we've done in the past, what we're doing this year is we'll be bringing out 25 models into that June timeframe, which will help propel dealers taking that inventory. So there may be some of that, but we also have some dealers in certain areas, large dealers that are actually needing inventory right now. Michael and I were on the phone yesterday with someone. So I think it's going to be a challenging environment.

Speaker 3

But with the 25 coming, we have appropriately adjusted our production levels the way they need to be. That's what we believe.

Speaker 6

Okay, thanks. And maybe a follow-up on the capital allocation decision. I guess your philosophy behind it, certainly makes sense in some ways to say, look, we're going to be consistent in the market by $10,000,000 worth of stock every quarter. But your stock is not the same price every quarter and it's been crushed recently. Why not be more proactive when it presumably is cheap versus trying to buy at an average price over time?

Speaker 2

Yes, sure. Fair question. I think what we've said consistently, Craig, is we have capital allocation priorities. We just reiterated those. Occasionally, over the years, we have tried to be opportunistic in repurchasing stock and we bought a fair amount in.

Speaker 2

What we've also consistently heard from investors and others is, consistency is key with respect to capital allocation. We will be in the market virtually immediately as soon as we are able to start buying stock. We are commenting on the pace per quarter, but not the pace within the quarter, and we'll see how that unfolds.

Speaker 3

Craig, the one thing I'd add to what Michael just said, in his commentary, he said that we would return at least 10,000,000 dollars So that's kind of the bottom level. I would expect that from an opportunistic aspect that it could be certainly more than 10,000,000 dollars They

Speaker 2

do more.

Speaker 6

Thanks. And I guess the last question on capital allocation. I mean, you guys have had some outstanding deals, Cobalt and Pursuit among them, but also with this Maverick announcement, why does it make sense to allocate capital to more acquisitions? And what's the bar for you to consider that as a better priority than your own stock given where your own stock is trading?

Speaker 2

If you look at the acquisitions we've done historically, and these are rough numbers, but with cobalt, we doubled EBITDA in approximately 2 years. And with Pursuit, we doubled EBITDA in approximately 3 years. And we think those have been really compelling uses of capital. So I'd say it's a high bar on acquisitions, which I think is what you said. We think our stock, the ability to buy Malibu at these levels is compelling.

Speaker 2

And to your point, it would have to be a very attractive acquisition. We're not going to stretch to do a deal. But we are ready to pursue those if they do.

Speaker 6

Okay. Hey, thanks a lot.

Operator

Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Hey, guys. Good morning. There's a comment in the release and I think you made it in the prepared remarks as well, just about retail getting worse throughout the rest of the fiscal year. And I'm wondering if that's sort of a company specific comment, if that's sort of broader marine market comment and maybe if you could just give us a lay of the land as far as what you're seeing in retail more recently?

Speaker 3

Yes. When we go about being worse, we're looking at that in comparative years and what we're experiencing.

Speaker 4

We're in a heavy selling season.

Speaker 3

So Brett, I think I'll kind of caveat it by this thing in this way. Q4 is certainly going to be better than what we've seen in Q3 and Q2. But if we compare that against previous years, it's a worse environment and it's not specific just to our company. I think we're seeing it across the board as

Speaker 4

we look at the retailers

Speaker 3

that are out there as well as the OEMs. It's just a very challenging environment and there are no details that help right now.

Speaker 7

Okay. But just to clarify, when you're saying 4Q is going to be better than 3Q, you're just talking about the sequential retail unit volumes or are you talking about the year over year rate of change or year over year decline?

Speaker 3

The sequential volumes, comparatively speaking, previous years, every quarter has been a challenge.

Speaker 7

Okay. And then Jack, I think last quarter just to sort of contextualize the dealer inventory levels, I think you said things were 5 weeks too high. You guys have talked about some progress, but I'm wondering if you could sort of give us where you think inventories are versus target or versus plan?

Speaker 1

Fred, at this point in time, we're still thinking they're high. It's more in that 4 week range, too high right now relative to where we'd like them to be. And we're still targeting to bring them down to that 22 weeks on hand by the end of the fiscal year.

Speaker 7

Okay, perfect. Thank you.

Operator

I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Jack Springer for any closing remarks.

Speaker 3

Thank you very much. In summary, Malibu Boats navigated a continued softened retail environment in Q3 with towboat and valueboat markets experiencing notable weakness, while Cobalt and Pursuit have performed better. Reducing the week on hand of inventory has been a primary focus for all brands and we will continue and will continue to be for the remainder of fiscal 2024. ASPs for all of our brands have been surprisingly robust confirming the premium buyers still active in purchasing. We were focused on our dealer network and have taken the steps necessary to reduce channel inventory levels.

Speaker 3

We will continue to leverage promotional activities to stimulate consumer demand, while closely monitoring dealer health. While there continues to be ambiguity surrounding the impact of macro factors on the timing of customer decisions, we have established a strong foundation with demonstrated resilience in prior cycles and are poised to support market growth as things correct. And finally, we remain confident in our ability to execute our long term strategy, particularly in a normalized cycle where we see ample opportunity to showcase the efficiencies of our cash generative business model and deliver strong shareholder return. For me, it has been a fantastic 15 years and 10 years as a publicly held company. I treasure the relationships I have made with many of you and I greatly appreciate your support of Malibu over the years.

Speaker 3

I wish you the very best. Have a great day and God bless.

Operator

This conference has now concluded. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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Key Takeaways

  • Leadership Transition: CEO Jack Springer announced his upcoming departure after 15 years, marking today’s call as his final earnings call and reflecting on Malibu’s growth under his tenure.
  • Q3 Financial Results: Net sales fell 45.8% to $203.4 M, adjusted EBITDA dropped 69.2% to $24.4 M, and gross margins contracted by 650 basis points to 19.8%, reflecting continued weak retail demand.
  • Inventory Management: The company is aggressively cutting production and raising promotional spending to reduce channel inventory toward its 22-week target during the peak selling season.
  • Market Share Gains: Despite industry headwinds, CohBar, Pursuit and Pathfinder each captured 220–400 basis points of share in their competitive segments over the past 12 months.
  • Capital Return Strategy: Malibu expects to end the year debt-free with $32 M net cash and has committed to returning at least $10 M per quarter to shareholders through share buybacks and/or dividends.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Malibu Boats Q3 2024
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