Dometic’s Americas segment, which includes its North American RV business, lost money in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Dometic said the Americas segment saw its operating profits lose 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The region posted a 4.7% operating profit gain in the fourth quarter of 2021.
President and CEO Juan Vargues said the loss primarily was related to declining sales to RV manufacturers.
“Sales to recreational vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. declined as expected,” Vargues said. “The margin for the Americas segment was negatively impacted by significantly lower net sales in both RV OEM and service and aftermarket.”
For the full year, Americas net sales rose 14%, even as operating profits in the segment declined 17% from 2021.
Fourth-quarter sales weakness appeared in each segment category, Dometic reported. Food and beverage sales fell 33.4% from the fourth quarter of 2021. Climate sales declined 19.7%, power and control sales were down 10.8% and other applications fell 17.5% from the fourth quarter of 2021.
Vargues said the supplier remained optimistic about long-term trends.
“However, it is difficult to predict how the current macroeconomic situation will impact the business in the short term,” he said. “We anticipate a gradual recovery in demand in service and aftermarket over the coming quarters, and continued stable development in distribution. In OEM, we foresee persistently weakened demand over the coming quarters.”
