Marine Products Corporation shares 2024 Q4 and full year results
Marine Products Corporation, a manufacturer of fiberglass boats, announced its unaudited results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Results
- Net sales decreased 33% year-over-year to $47.8 million
- Net income was $4.3 million, down 21% year-over-year, and diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) was $0.12; Net income margin increased 120 basis points to 8.9% due to favorable tax items
- Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $4.4 million, down 32% year-over-year; EBITDA margin was consistent year-over-year at 9.2%
- Results reflected cost control measures to mitigate continued soft order flow, though year-over-year sales declines became less pronounced as the year progressed
Full Year 2024 Results
- Net sales decreased 38% year-over-year to $236.6 million
- Net income was $17.9 million, and diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) was $0.50; Net income margin was 7.5%
- Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $21.1 million, and EBITDA margin was 8.9%
- The Company continued to generate strong cash flow, supporting both regular quarterly dividends and a significant mid-year special dividend, and ended the year with approximately $52.4 million in cash and no debt
Fourth quarter consolidated financial results year-over-year
The company reported that net sales were $47.8 million, down 33% from the same quarter the previous year. The decrease in net sales was primarily due to a 39% decrease in the number of boats sold during the quarter, partially offset by a positive price/mix of 6%. Dealers continued to tightly manage their inventories in the face of elevated floor plan carrying costs and soft consumer demand. The company’s quarterly sales decreases steadily improved throughout 2024 (full-year sales declined 38%) and management expects year-over-year sales comparisons to be generally flat in the near-term, with potential for growth in the second half of 2025.
“We were encouraged with our fourth quarter results after a very challenging 2024,” said Ben M. Palmer, president and CEO of Marine Products Corporation. “Our year-over-year sales decline in the fourth quarter was 33%, marking our smallest quarterly decrease this year. While we are not pleased with these results, we believe we are past the toughest quarterly sales comparisons and have seen sequential gross margin stability, with a slight improvement compared to last year’s fourth quarter margin.”
The company’s gross profit was $9.2 million, down 32% and gross margin was 19.2%, up 20 basis points. The year-over-year gross margin improvement reflected effective manufacturing cost controls as well as a favorable comparison to the impact of reinstituting promotional programs in last year’s fourth quarter. Production schedules and labor costs have been adjusted to more closely align with reduced demand.
“Our efforts to scale down production and allow the channel to de-stock have been successful, however, our dealers remain cautious given persistently high inventories across other competitors and categories,” said Palmer. “We have managed our costs aggressively during this challenging demand period to preserve margins and will remain prudent with hiring and production increases until we have more definitive signals for improved demand. Feedback from recent boat shows has been positive, with good attendance and solid interest from buyers.”
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $5.6 million, down 28%, and represented 11.6% of net sales, up 70 basis points versus the prior year. The decrease in SG&A expenses was largely due to costs that vary with sales and profitability, such as incentive compensation, sales commissions and warranty expense.
Interest income of $512 thousand decreased due to lower cash balances as a result of the company’s special dividend paid during the second quarter of 2024, coupled with lower interest rates. The income tax benefit was $71 thousand, primarily due to tax credits related to the solar panel installation at the company’s manufacturing site applied against the company’s tax liability. Net income and diluted EPS were $4.3 million and $0.12, respectively, down from $5.4 million and $0.16, respectively, in 4Q of 2023. Net income margin was 8.9%, up 120 basis points, primarily due to the favorable tax credit. EBITDA was $4.4 million, down from $6.5 million. The EBITDA margin was 9.2%, consistent with last year’s fourth quarter.
“From a macro perspective, our industry welcomed recent interest rate cuts by the Fed, but the rate outlook appears unclear with mixed signals for further relief in the near-term,” said Palmer. “These cuts helped lower floor plan carrying costs for dealers and financing costs for consumers, but buying conviction still appears modest from both groups. This has been a difficult year for the industry, but we are proud of our model year 2025 product launches and lineup improvements and our ability to exit the year in a very strong financial position. We can comfortably fund our internal growth projects, capital investments and dividends, as we continue to look for the right M&A opportunity to drive value for our shareholders,” concluded Palmer.
- Non-GAAP measures, including EBITDA, EBITDA margin, and free cash flow are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures in the appendices of this earnings release.
- All comparisons are year-over-year to 4Q 2023 unless stated otherwise.
The complete Q4 and full year 2024 results are on the Marine Products Corporation website.
