MFH New and Views: Skyline Corp. Experiencing Comeback After Great Recession
Skyline Corp. founded in 1951 is one of the oldest and most respected manufactured home builders in the nation. Headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, Skyline Corp is one of few major independent manufactured housing companies to survive the Great Recession that hit in 2008.
According to The Elkhart Truth, Skyline Corp. is beginning to see sales growth, although company executives say the numbers are not where they would like them to be.
During the third quarter of fiscal 2016, Skyline Corp, saw net sales from continuing operations climb 25 percent to $47 million, a large improvement from $38 million a year ago, according to a press release. The company still experienced a net loss of $520,000 or 6 cents per share but was an improvement over the $2.9 million, or 36 cents per share, loss from the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
MFH New and Views: Skyline Corp. Experiencing Comeback After Great Recession
In the first nine months of fiscal 2016, Skyline has seen $155 million in net sales from continuing operations, an increase of 13 percent over $137 million a year ago. Shareholders have seen a net income of $352,000 or 6 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $10 million, or $1.22 per share, during the first nine months of 2015.
Skyline President and CEO Richard Flores said that although the numbers showed improvement, the company is “not yet satisfied.”
Manufactured home industry shipment numbers are down compared to industry shipments before the Great Recession. Only 70,519 units were shipped in 2015 compared to 117,510 in 2006, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute, the national trade organization that represents the industry.
A report from the National Association of Home Builders notes that new home sales are on the rise, a good sign for the manufactured home industry.
MFH News and Views:
MFH ANALYSIS: While the numbers are not back to pre-recession levels, the overall manufactured home industry growth is pointing to good things in the future. Following the Great Recession from 2008-2010, the manufactured home industry began an acknowledged rebound in 2011, which has since shown significant growth in the production and shipment of HUD Code manufactured homes each successive month and year since 2011. The winning streak has continued through 2015 and the first two months of 2016. January 2016 production increased 17.9% over homes produced in January 2015 and a whopping 27.6% increase in February 2016 over the same month in 2015.
The “return to health” of the manufactured housing industry may well be statistically understated. The cited growth numbers do not include modular homes, also produced by manufactured home companies, which have become an important and growing segment of manufactured home production within the last few years.
