SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 29, 2004
FLEETWOOD ENTERPRISES, INC.
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(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Delaware 1-07699 95-1948322
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(State or Other (Commission File (IRS Employer
Jurisdiction of Number) Identification
Incorporation) Number)
3125 Myers Street, Riverside, California 92503-5527
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (909) 351-3500
N/A
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(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Item 12. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On April 29, 2004, Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (the "Company") issued
a news release reporting the preliminary sales results of the Company for
its fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended April 25, 2004. A copy of
the news release is attached to this Current Report as Exhibit 99.1.
The information in this Current Report, including the exhibit attached
hereto, is being furnished and shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of
Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise
subject to the liabilities of such section. The information in this Current
Report shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration
statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
Exhibit List.
Exhibit Number Title
99.1 Press release of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. dated April
29, 2004.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this current report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
FLEETWOOD ENTERPRISES, INC.
Date: April 29, 2004 By: /s/ Boyd R. Plowman
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Boyd R. Plowman
Executive Vice President-Chief
Financial Officer
Exhibit 99.1
FLEETWOOD REPORTS PRELIMINARY SALES FOR
FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR 2004
Quarterly Revenues Increased in Each Operating Division
Riverside, Calif., April 29, 2004 - Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE),
the nation's leader in recreational vehicle sales and a leading producer and
retailer of manufactured housing, today announced preliminary sales for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 25, 2004.
For the fourth quarter, Company sales were up in every operating division,
rising 20 percent to approximately $690 million, compared with $573 million
in last year's fourth quarter. Quarterly sales improved 19 percent for the
RV Group, while revenues for the Housing Group rose 22 percent overall, with
the wholesale division up 27 percent and the retail division up 10 percent.
For the fiscal year, consolidated sales improved 13 percent, from $2.32
billion last year to $2.61 billion, with recreational vehicles up 20 percent
and manufactured housing off 2 percent.
Recreational vehicle sales for the fourth quarter climbed to $482 million,
up 19 percent compared with $405 million a year ago. Motor home revenues
improved 21 percent from the prior year to $300 million, while travel
trailer sales rose 17 percent to $155 million and folding trailer sales
increased 3 percent to $27 million.
Sales of recreational vehicles for the fiscal year 2004 totaled $1.78
billion, up 20 percent compared with $1.48 billion in the prior year. Motor
home sales grew 20 percent to $1.10 billion, and sales of travel trailers
increased 29 percent to $571 million. Folding trailer sales declined by 15
percent to $104 million.
"The RV industry continues to strengthen and the outlook is very positive,
powered by favorable demographic trends and an increasing affinity for the
RV lifestyle among Americans," said Edward B. Caudill, Fleetwood's president
and CEO. "Fleetwood is participating fully in the industry expansion, and is
also increasing its RV market share in key, higher-margin products, such as
Class A motor homes and fifth-wheel travel trailers. Much of the improvement
in sales is a result of our design innovations, which focus on producing
high-value products distributed by an excellent dealer network. We are
excited about the future of this business, and fully expect Fleetwood to
achieve continued success and further market penetration."
Fourth quarter sales for the Housing Group increased 22 percent to
approximately $193 million compared with $158 million a year ago. Housing
revenues include wholesale factory sales of $145 million to independent
retailers and retail sales of $48 million from Company-operated retail
stores. This compares with wholesale sales of $114 million and retail sales
of $44 million last year, for increases of 27 and 10 percent, respectively.
Gross wholesale revenue rose 21 percent to approximately $164 million,
including intercompany sales of $19 million.
Housing Group sales for fiscal 2004 were down 2 percent from the prior year
to $784 million, which includes wholesale factory sales of $542 million to
independent retailers and retail sales of $242 million from Fleetwood's
Company-operated retail stores. Gross wholesale revenue for the year was down
1 percent to $658 million, including intercompany sales of $116 million to
Company-operated retail stores.
"Our fourth quarter upturn in manufactured housing revenues is a positive
sign that the industry is on the road to recovery," Caudill said. "We are
particularly pleased that Fleetwood is making strides in revenues and market
share even while the market saw year-over-year reductions in shipments. We
can now see that some of the recent market improvements, such as additional
lenders participating in this space and the reduction in inventory overhang,
are making a positive difference, which lends credence to the Manufactured
Housing Institute's prediction of a possible double-digit percentage
industry recovery in calendar 2004.
"Despite the excellent growth of the Company's overall revenues, we continue
to be cautious about our net results for the quarter and the year," Caudill
continued. "While operating income should improve from the prior year in
each of our operating divisions, only the motor home division is performing
at a level we consider acceptable. In addition, we continue to evaluate the
level of required valuation allowance related to our Federal deferred tax
asset. Also offsetting operating results were the costs we incurred this
quarter related to the successful conversion of our Trust III convertible
trust preferred securities. Going forward, we will reap the benefits of this
transaction, with interest expense savings of $14.3 million per year. All in
all, we expect fiscal 2005 to be Fleetwood's best year in some time."
The Company confirmed its intent to pay in cash the distributions due in
mid-May on the Company's remaining $38 million of 9.5% preferred securities
and, as it has previously indicated, to continue to defer distributions on
its 6% preferred securities.
About Fleetwood
Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., a Fortune 1000 company headquartered in
Riverside, Calif., is a leading manufacturer of a full range of recreational
vehicles from motor homes to travel and folding trailers, and is a vertically
integrated manufacturer, retailer and financier of manufactured housing. The
Company is dedicated to providing quality, innovative products that offer a
high value to its customers. Fleetwood operates facilities strategically
located throughout the nation, including recreational vehicle and
manufactured housing plants, retail home centers, and supply subsidiary
plants. For more information, visit the Company's Website at
www.fleetwood.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and
information based on the beliefs of Fleetwood's management as well as
assumptions made by, and information currently available to, Fleetwood's
management. Such statements reflect the current views of Fleetwood with
respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions, including risk factors identified in Fleetwood's 10-K and other
SEC filings. These risk factors include, without limitation: the cyclical
nature of both the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries;
ongoing weakness in the manufactured housing market; the potential impact on
demand for our products as a result of declining consumer confidence; the
effect of global tensions on consumer confidence; continued acceptance of the
Company's products; expenses and uncertainties associated with the
introduction and manufacturing of new products; the future availability of
manufactured housing retail financing, as well as housing and RV wholesale
financing; exposure to interest rate and market changes affecting certain of
the Company's assets and liabilities; changes in retail inventory levels in
the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; availability
and pricing of raw materials; competitive pricing pressures; the ability to
attract and retain quality dealers, executive officers and other personnel;
and the ability to obtain the financing we need in order to execute our
business strategies. Actual results, events and performance may differ
materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Fleetwood
undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to
these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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