Challenger Powerboats Sets Strategic Initiatives for 2008, Company reviews key accomplishments of 2007
WASHINGTON, Mo., Feb 06, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Challenger Powerboats, Inc., a manufacturer of powerboats, tow boats and water-jet powered sport boats, announced its strategic initiatives for 2008 and summarized its key achievements for the past year.
Key achievements and events during 2007 include:
-- Acquisition of IMAR Group (Sugar Sand) and the assets and technology of Gekko Sports in January.
-- Posting $5.8 million of record revenue for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007 versus negative revenue for the same period 2006.
-- Major restructuring of the Company's balance sheet, whereby liabilities decreased by $19.4 million and equity increased by $15.1 million through September 30, 2007.
-- The Company's first ever dealer meeting held in September which yielded $4.5 million in new boat orders.
-- Partnership with world-renown Italian engineering design firm Pininfarina to create high end limited edition high performance boat series.
Challenger's CEO, Laurie Phillips, stated, "2007 was a milestone year for Challenger. Beginning with our acquisition of the IMAR Group and the assets and technology of Gekko Sports in January, we added two exciting boat brands, 'Sugar Sand' and 'Gekko' to our product offering. Additionally, we procured approximately $10 million of floor plan financing and expanded domestic and international distribution to over 130 dealers.
Though it has taken most of the year to fully integrate the acquisition, we believe 2008 will prove to be the breakout year for Challenger in terms of accelerated top and bottom line growth."
Strategic initiatives and goals for 2008:
-- Achieve a year-over-year total revenue growth of at least 100%, while improving gross margins to achieve or exceed industry average.
-- Achieve net profitability for the year.
-- Continue to expand international distribution channels to increase international sales to up to 20% of total sales to exploit foreign currency buying power.
-- Unveil the 36 foot Challenger- Pininfarina special edition performance prototype at the Miami Boat Show in February 2008.
-- Consider other strategic acquisitions that will support the company's profitability objective.
Ms. Phillips added, "We are restructuring our production operation to institute additional efficiency procedures in an effort to increase production. Our sales backlog is growing at a pace that requires a significant improvement in output. We are also reinforcing our customer relations effort and quality control to ensure that our dealers receive superior service. This will be supported by an updated company website." Ms. Phillips concluded, "Our ultimate objective is to continue the growth momentum that was instituted in 2007 to deliver profitability in 2008. We expect a strong reception to the new, high performance boats designed by Pininfarina, which should further our efforts to delivering solid earnings for this year."
About Challenger Powerboats, Inc.
Challenger Powerboats, Inc. designs and manufactures high performance 'go fast' offshore racing boats, family sport cruisers, jet boats and water ski tow boats under the brands 'Challenger Powerboats', 'Sugar Sand' and 'Gekko', which target the recreational boating market. Proven world-class technology is incorporated into the manufacturing of our award winning boats at the Company's 65,000 sq. ft. facility located on our 12 acre complex in Washington, Missouri and 80,000 sq. ft facility in Fargo, North Dakota. The Company's boats are sold through our dealer network in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Japan. In 2006, Gekko was selected as an official tow boat for the World Barefooting Championships, and the European Barefooting Championships in 2005.
