LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Jason Lippert: I think, it’s just a lot of false reporting or just misreporting. So there is no noise or chatter there. THOR launched an innovation tent where they had a chassis there, I think that’s where a lot of the noise came from. All they did was try to show for electric vehicles when it comes to towing something lighter, that they’ve got some ideas around how to make a lighter chassis, which is obviously a big piece of the weight. But I think it got misunderstood from that point forward. But yes — and a chassis, it’s hundreds of millions in investment, it’s not a small chunk of change. So to get into it, it’s not just doing it right and all the complexities that come with manufacturing and making a profit on it, but just all the equipment and facility and people, resources that go in place to make it work. So hopefully I hope that answers your question.

Bret Jordan: And then quick final question is housekeeping, quick housekeeping question. I guess on the covenant waivers you got earlier in the year, if the fourth quarter is going to be slightly profitable and then I think you talked about a next couple of quarters shipments probably being below retail. Are you good on current covenants going into ‘24 or is that something you have to revisit?

Lillian Etzkorn: Bret, we’re comfortable with our covenants. Obviously, that’s something that we keep track of very closely in cyclical times like these, but we’re comfortable with where we are with the covenants.

Operator: Thank you. Our final question comes from Brandon Rolle with D.A. Davidson.

Brandon Rolle: Just first, we’ve picked up from dealers noting rust on some of the chassis that have been sitting on lots or RVs that have been sitting on lots. Typically, that will be covered under warranty for 12 months to us. Is there any warranty implications down the road we should be mindful of?

Jason Lippert: Not that I’m aware of, no. And rusting chassis with the powder coat isn’t completely abnormal. We upgraded our paint systems from a wet coat system to a powder system in early 2000. So that improved our performance on warranty for paint specifically on chassis, but I wouldn’t pay much attention to it. We take care of those as they come through.

Brandon Rolle: And just finally, Camping World had indicated on their call, they actually called for maybe a diversification of sourcing for chassis, furniture, maybe some other items as well within the content of the RV. Where do you see any risk to your market share? And players like Norco have been gaining share with Forest River and aggressively investing in capacity and their workforce. Do you feel like anything could change in the chassis landscape over the next year, and would you need to lower pricing potentially in order to maintain share?

Jason Lippert: I think just to be clear, our chassis shares remain neutral over the last 12 months. So I don’t know where that’s coming from. With respect to Camping World’s comments, yes, I did read that and hear that. But I’d say, Brandon, that that’s something that’s been in the aerospace for years and years and years. I mean there’s always a clamoring for more competitive opportunities here. There’s a lot of people that get in the business and get out of it, get in it and stay in it in a small way, and that happens year in and year out, whether it might be a customer or a vertical. But we’re very, very comfortable competing in, in all these spaces. I think our competitive advantages are, like I said, our people, our facilities or some of our automation and really our 25 years of building a lot of these products, it really gives us a competitive advantage and a step above what other people that are new, are coming into and trying to figure it out.

So we’ve had to compete on our own two feet for quite a long time in a lot of different areas. And it’s on us every day to come, bring the best value, be the most competitive, whether it’s a bundle of products or just on a singular product. We’ve got to come in and play that game every day and that’s part of, I think, what makes us who we are.

Operator: Thank you. That is the end of the Q&A session. I will now hand back over to Jason Lippert for closing remarks.

Jason Lippert: I just want to thank everybody for tuning in today. I look forward to talking next quarter. Thanks, everybody, for joining. See you. Bye-bye.

Operator: This concludes today’s call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

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