Thor Industries Tops Q1 Expectations, Shares Gain

Shares of Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) jumped more than 3.5 percent in after-hours trading Monday after the company reported upbeat results for its fiscal first quarter.

The Elkhart, Indiana-based company reported quarterly net income from continuing operations of $50.7 million, or $0.97 per share, compared to $39.2 million, or $0.73 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Its sales from continuing operations rose 12 percent year-over-year to $1.03 billion from $922.0 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.83 per share on revenue of $1.01 billion.

Towable RV sales rose 6 percent to $744.7 million for the first quarter, while Motorized RV sales gained 13 percent to $251.1 million for the first quarter.

Gross profit margins widened to 14.8 percent from 12.8 percent.

As of October 31, 2015, the company's total cash balances were $179.3 million.

"Continued focus upon execution of our strategic plan allowed Thor to achieve a record start to fiscal 2016, with sales and backlogs both exceeding $1 billion, improved margins and strong earnings growth for the quarter," said Bob Martin, Thor President and CEO. "This record performance would not have been possible without the strength of our dealer base and all of our team members who work hard to make what we think are the best RVs in the business."

Thor Industries shares rose 3.88 percent to $60.20 in the after-hours trading session.