FPWR had a good showing at the Miami Boat show. Their backlog has now increased from $40 million to $50 million. FPWR disappointed in their last earnings report but noted gross margins should significantly improve in the coming quarters.
Fountain Powerboats Logs Orders of $11.6 Million at the 64th Miami International Boat Show
Monday March 7, 10:00 am ET
Miami Boat Show Drives Order Backlog to $50 Million
WASHINGTON, NC--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 7, 2005 -- Fountain Powerboats, Inc. (NasdaqSC:FPWR - News), a subsidiary of Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. and leading manufacturer of high performance sport boats, fish boats and express cruisers, today announced that it has inked sales in excess of $11.6 million during the 64th Miami International Boat Show. The influx of new orders increased the existing sales backlog to approximately $50 million. The show, with more than 2,200 exhibitors, kicked off a celebration of the boating lifestyle and featured the latest powerboats, engines, electronics and marine accessories.
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"This is our third major boat show over the past four months and at those three shows, held in Ft. Lauderdale, New York and Miami, orders were signed totaling in excess of $19.6 million," said Fountain Powerboats CEO Reggie M. Fountain, Jr. "We believe the significant increase in orders written during the three shows is a direct result of our product diversity, brand leadership and reputation for delivering innovative, quality boats where performance and safety go hand-in-hand. Our strategy to expand our target markets to include high-performance fish boats, cruisers and sport boats provides our customers a better range of boats to meet their changing lifestyles. It also offers our worldwide distributors a multiplicity of inventory to better target their specific markets."
"In the 18 years I have been attending the Miami Show, I have never experienced product being so well received by the retail consumer," commented Fountain's Director of Dealer Development, Nick G. Miller. "According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), show attendance was up significantly for the first three days and then tapered off. We are happy to say it never tapered off in the Fountain booth. There was a constant, heavy flow of prospects, which resulted in one of the best ever retail shows for Fountain Powerboats.
"We were pleased to have 25 of our dealers and their salespeople working the Fountain Powerboats booth during the show," continued Miller. "This is the largest participation of dealers we have had assist in a show, and I believe is reflective of our successful programs to support and strengthen our dealerships and enhance our increasing global presence as a unified dealer network."
