Winnebago Industries Reports Q2'07 Results

FOREST CITY, IOWA, March 15, 2007 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), a leading United States motor home manufacturer, today reported financial results for the Company’s second quarter and first six months of fiscal year 2007 ended February 24, 2007.

Net income for the second quarter was $7.5 million, a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to net income of $7.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2006. On a diluted per share basis, the Company earned 24 cents a share for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, compared to 23 cents per diluted share for the second quarter last fiscal year.

Revenues for the quarter were $199.0 million, a decrease of 3.6 percent, compared to revenues of $206.4 million for the second quarter last fiscal year.

Net income for the first six months of fiscal 2007 was $15.5 million, a decrease of 30.5 percent compared to $22.3 million for the same period of fiscal 2006. On a diluted per share basis, the Company earned 49 cents a share for the first six months of fiscal 2007, compared to 67 cents a share for the first six months of fiscal 2006.

Revenues for the first six months of fiscal 2007 were $400.8 million, a decrease of 8.6 percent compared to $438.7 million for the same period last fiscal year.

“Net income for the quarter was negatively impacted by lower volume, which was more than offset by increased financial income and a lower effective tax rate,” said Winnebago Industries’ Chairman and CEO Bruce Hertzke. “We were pleased with the introduction of our new Class A products at the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association show in Louisville. The lower-priced Winnebago Vista and Itasca Sunstar Class A gas motor homes began shipping during the second quarter, resulting in a significant increase in Class A gas motor homes delivered during the quarter. Contributing to the weakness in the Class C segment in the second quarter, was the fact that higher deliveries of the new fuel efficient Winnebago View and Itasca Navion were needed during the second quarter last year to provide adequate stocking levels in the dealer channel.”

“We were pleased to see improvement in our sales order backlog,” said Winnebago Industries’ President Ed Barker. “As of February 24, 2007, the sales order backlog showed an increase of 40 percent in the Class A gas segment and 60 percent in the Class A diesel segment, while the Class C segment remained fairly flat compared to the sales order backlog reported as of February 25, 2006. The increase in Class A backlog is due primarily to the favorable dealer response to our new Winnebago Destination and Itasca Latitude motor homes now entering the market. The Destination and Latitude are available in either a rear gas or diesel chassis option. They are currently in production and we will begin initial shipments during the third quarter.”

As of February 24, 2007, $22.2 million remains available under the April 12, 2006 Board of Directors common stock repurchase authorization.

Winnebago Industries will conduct a conference call in conjunction with this release at 9 a.m. Central Time today, Thursday, March 15, 2007. Members of the news media, investors and the general public are invited to access a live broadcast of the conference call via the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at http://www.winnebagoind.com/investor.html. The event will be archived and available for replay for the next 90 days.

About Winnebago Industries

Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a leading U.S. manufacturer of motor homes, self-contained recreation vehicles used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The Company builds quality motor homes under the Winnebago and Itasca brand names with state-of-the-art computer-aided design and manufacturing systems on automotive-styled assembly lines. The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges and traded under the symbol WGO. Options for the Company’s common stock are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. For access to Winnebago Industries’ investor relations material, to add your name to an automatic email list for Company news releases or for information on a dollar-based stock investment service for the Company’s stock, visit, http://www.winnebagoind.com/investor.html.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including, but not limited to the effect of global tensions, declines in consumer confidence, the availability and price of fuel, a significant increase in interest rates, a slowdown in the economy, availability of chassis or other key component parts, sales order cancellations, slower than anticipated sales of new or existing products, new products introduced by competitors and other factors. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or from the Company upon request.

Contact: Sheila Davis – PR/IR Mgr. - 641-585-6803 – sdavis@winnebagoind.com  











 

Winnebago Industries, Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income

(In thousands, except percent and per share data)