Two weeks before releasing its latest earnings, LCI Industries and Lippert Components Inc. estimated it registered $1 billion in sales.
Tuesday, the company delivered.
Lippert announced 2021 first-quarter revenue totaling $1 billion, the highest mark in the company’s 74-year history. The previous record was $827.7 million in 2020’s third quarter.
“We achieved a record $1 billion in revenue during the first quarter 2021,” LCI Industries President and CEO Jason Lippert said, “which is a watershed moment for Lippert and an extraordinary accomplishment considering the significant labor and supply chain headwinds the industry has faced.”
Lippert’s record annual net sales came in 2020. The company totaled $2.8 billion in revenue last year.
The first-quarter success came through on the bottom line as well. Lippert’s profits rose $45.9 million from the first quarter of 2020, a 163 percent increase.
“Our team’s agility, combined with our robust operational capabilities, allowed us to capitalize on the extraordinary demand across the outdoor recreation space to capture new growth opportunities and expand market share,” Lippert said. “At the same time, we amplified our efforts to deliver innovative products and enhance the customer experience, solidifying our position as a best-in-class supplier within the outdoor recreational community.”
Thompson Research Group (TRG) Analyst Kathryn Thompson said in a note that increased margins drove higher revenue. Lippert reported OEM margins at 9.7% in the first quarter of 2021, above TRG estimates 8.7%. Aftermarket margins were 12.0% in the quarter, up from TRG’s estimates of 11.1%.
“The wave of customers continuing to stream into the RV lifestyle is fueling one of the largest replacement cycles the industry has ever seen,” Lippert said. “This will undoubtedly serve as an additional tailwind to our already successful and fast-growing aftermarket business, which has nearly tripled in size over the last three years. Given the millions of RVs entering the parts replacement cycle, we remain confident that this will continue to propel our aftermarket business over the next several years.”
Aftermarket sales accounted for $18.4% of total revenues in the quarter.
Lippert reported continued growth in April. The company said sales totaled $365 million, up 522 percent from April 2020 when the pandemic took hold on the country.
“With heightened retail demand showing no signs of slowing and a long runway to get dealer inventories back to more normalized levels,” Lippert said, “Lippert is incredibly well-positioned as we move through 2021 and beyond.”
