Thor 4Q earnings plunge on weak RV market

In a regulatory filing, Thor said earnings for the quarter ended July 31 slumped to $5 million, or 9 cents per share, from $50.3 million, or 90 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding the cost of a write-down of intangible assets, the earnings came to 23 cents per share, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Edward Aaron.

Net sales declined 25 percent to $569.8 million from $754.9 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected fourth-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share on $568.5 million in revenue.

For the full year, Thor said earnings fell to $92.7 million, or $1.66 per share, from $134.7 million, or $2.41 per share, in 2007. Sales slipped to $2.64 billion from $2.86 billion.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.88 per share on $2.64 billion in sales.

RV companies have been battered recently as high gasoline prices, weak consumer confidence and a difficult credit market continue to undercut sales. Thor said it continued to be affected by "current market conditions."

"When fuel prices stabilize and retail credit availability improves, we expect to see a rebound in sales from dealers ordering units for stock and expect to benefit from our ability to ramp up production in an industry with fewer manufacturing facilities than before," the company said in its filing.

Shares of Thor closed Monday at $25.15. The stock is down 34 percent for the year to date.