Lippert President and CEO Jason Lippert said the RV supplier began 2024 on an up note, increasing profits from the first quarter of 2023.
Lippert’s net sales were down 1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from a year earlier, but profits rose 428% from the first quarter of 2023.
Jason Lippert said the results showed the company is more than an RV supplier. In the first quarter, 57% of total sales came from businesses outside of North American RV OEMs.
“We have started off the year exceeding expectations with strong profits and margin expansion in the first quarter,” he said, “driven almost entirely by the continued strength in our diversified businesses and our disciplined operational execution.”
The company’s content per RV was down slightly in towables and motorhomes. Lippert said the decline was primarily driven by less-expensive RVs manufacturers made. Jason Lippert said he does not expect the lower-cost RV trend to continue.
“I think it is the time that we are in right now,” he said, “and we have been seeing a steady movement toward a lot of these entry-level trailers.”
Jason Lippert said the company saw the industry gravitate toward less-expensive, single-axle trailers. He said single-axle RVs comprise 20% of chassis production, up from 15% historically.
However, Lippert said the smaller RVs are not the only evidence of lowered costs.
“The other thing that is dragging content is just some of the bigger toy haulers,” he said. “Those are way down. For us, content can get up to $15,000 a trailer. The toy hauler space is kind of dead right now.”
Jason Lippert also singled out the company’s anti-lock brake systems as evidence of Lippert’s innovation and safety focus.
“Recently, we held our Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) Spring Showcase, where Bob Martin, CEO of Thor Industries, and many other industry leaders and RV enthusiasts test-drove our new ABS brakes on the Navistar track in northern Indiana,” he said. “Taking customers to the track and giving them a real-life experience has really helped in highlighting how much of a difference we believe ABS can make for safely towing both travel trailers and fifth wheels. Towing is one of the biggest hurdles for new buyers to get over, and we have found that dealers are having a much easier time giving new buyers peace of mind on units equipped with our ABS suspension systems.”
Since launching the ABS, Lippert added 10 “high-profile towable RV brands” as customers using ABS. Lippert recently launched coil spring independent suspensions to lessen vibrations. He said the coil spring suspension should significantly lessen trailers’ shakedown on the road, improving OEM quality.
