Thor stock surges as rival RV manufacturers falter - Dayton Business Journal:

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But while competitors veer into embankments and breakdown roadside, Shelbu County-based is plugging along. Sinc the company predicted growth in filingsin mid-March, its stocki price rebounded from a 52-weej low of about $10 per shars to more than $17 per share. The companhy has the fourth-largest revenued stream in theDayton region, at $2.64 billion. It employs 8,5000 in all, and 300 at its Jacksoh Center headquarters. While Thor remains the credit squeeze and lack of consumer confidence hit recreationalk vechicle makers whereit hurts, causing many to ented bankruptcy.
Thor’s main competitors, such as Oregon-based and California-basede , both filed for bankruptcy in the past six Both companiesfound buyers, and will essentially continuwe operations. In late 2008, another , washed its hands of RVs and sold its assetsxto Indiana-based for $42.2 Thor — which manufactures its Streamline RVs in northerbn Shelby County — is itself seeing revenue dive, reflective in the share price of $17 per share, almost half the $31 per share in September. In the secon d quarter of fiscal 2009, revenued sank to $226.6 million, compared with $599.
million in the same period a year ago, resultinh in the company’s first loss in more than 17 Inthat time, Thor sold just 5,100 RVs, a 71 percent drop compared to the 17,800 it sold in the same periof last year. But when the smoke fiscally-sound Thor will be in an arena with fewef competitors as aging baby boomerd start buying the recreationalvehicles again, analystds said. Kevin Broom, spokesperson for the , said data showe there is a lotof pent-up demand for RVs. “Thes industry is down because of credit andconsumee confidence, not because RVs have become unpopular,” Broom While the company lost $14.
76 million in the six-months of fiscal 2009 — comparer with a $95.6 million profiyt the year before — it has plenth of cash to wait out the economi storm that sunk its competitors. On Jan. 31, it had $191 milliojn in cash and cash equivalents, comparedr with $189 million just six months earlier. It also remainse debt-free. “Fortunately, we have the financiao resources to continue to set ourselves aparr fromour competitors,” said Wade Thompson, Thor’s in a statement.
The company expects a revenue bump thisyear too, becausw of increased sales in the three bus manufactureds it owns, said Thomspson, who owned 29 percent of the company’s voting stock as of September 2008. Thor is the largesg manufacturer of small and midsize transit and commerciaol buses in North America and holda more than a third of the totaklmarket share, according to companyh filings. From 2006 to bus revenue grew from 10 percent of total revenue to16 percent. Bus sales are poiseed to leap this year becauser the American Recovery andReinvestment Act, knowjn as the stimulus bill, includes $8.4 billioj for mass transportation and will boosft bus purchases.
In Dayton the regional transit authority is purchasinb more than 80 new busesfrom — a Thor subsidiaryu — with the help of stimulusa money. Thor acquired Goshen Coaches yearszbefore “stimulus” was a household At the time of the purchase, in Thor said the deal would capture more than 45 percen of the small- to medium-size bus market.