Fleetwood Says 4th-Quarter Earnings Drop 53%

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. reported a 53% drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and said first-quarter profit will be hurt as rising interest rates stifle demand. The maker of recreational vehicles and manufactured homes said net income fell to $11.4 million, or 37 cents a share after the payment of preferred dividends, from $24.5 million, or 66 cents after dividends, last year. Sales fell 5.7% to $893.9 million. The Riverside-based company had warned that profit would fall in the fourth quarter because of reduced demand for manufactured housing. It said sales of such homes will continue to fall in the first quarter because of excess inventory, tightened credit and rising interest rates. Fleetwood also said it’s concerned about slowing sales and rising inventory of recreational vehicles and will cut production as a result. The profit warning was Fleetwood’s fourth in about a year. The company didn’t provide a specific forecast for first-quarter results. It earned $26.4 million, or 72 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Fleetwood shares have fallen 44% over that period. Fleetwood closed up 6 cents at $14.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.