Malibu Boats (MBUU) Telefonkonferenz zu den Ergebnissen für Q1 GJ2027: Umsatz steigt um 29,9 %, Ausblick für Dezember festgelegt

Zentrale Erkenntnisse

• Malibu Boats wies für das September-Quartal einen Nettoumsatz von 252,9 Millionen US-Dollar aus, ein Plus von 29,9 % gegenüber dem Vorjahr, einschließlich 51,1 Millionen US-Dollar von Saxdor. Der Legacy-Nettoumsatz stieg um rund 3,6 % auf 201,8 Millionen US-Dollar.
• Das bereinigte EBITDA stieg um 21,7 % auf 14,3 Millionen US-Dollar, bei einer bereinigten EBITDA-Marge von 5,7 %. Ohne Saxdor sank das bereinigte EBITDA auf rund 10,3 Millionen US-Dollar gegenüber 11,8 Millionen US-Dollar, was im Wesentlichen auf die schwächere Entwicklung bei Malibu zurückzuführen war.
• Der Umsatz des Segments Malibu sank um 9,1 % auf 71,5 Millionen US-Dollar, da eine schwächere Einzelhandelsnachfrage im Ski-Wake-Bereich, geringere Großhandelsauslieferungen und höhere Händleranreize die Ergebnisse belasteten. Die Umsätze von Cobalt und Saltwater Fishing stiegen um 18,8 % beziehungsweise 7,1 %.
• Saxdor erzielte eine bereinigte EBITDA-Marge von 8 %, während Malibu Boats weiter in den Hochlauf der US-Produktion investierte. Die Serienproduktion der Saxdor 320 GTO in Fort Pierce läuft bereits vor dem ursprünglichen Zeitplan.
• Das Management stellte für das Dezember-Quartal einen Nettoumsatz von 236 bis 248 Millionen US-Dollar sowie ein bereinigtes EBITDA von 13 bis 15 Millionen US-Dollar in Aussicht, basierend auf einem vorsichtigen Ausblick für die Einzelhandelsnachfrage.
• Der freie Cashflow lag bei minus 39,5 Millionen US-Dollar, was in erster Linie einen Bestandsaufbau von rund 32 Millionen US-Dollar, jährliche Vergütungszahlungen und Händleranreize widerspiegelt. Das Management rechnet damit, dass der Bedarf an Betriebskapital im ersten Halbjahr des Kalenderjahres 2027 sinken wird.

Wichtigste Finanzdaten

Geschäftliche und operative Entwicklung

Der Nettoumsatz des Segments Malibu verringerte sich um 9,1 % auf 71,5 Millionen US-Dollar. Das Management führte den Rückgang auf geringere Großhandelsauslieferungen im Einklang mit der schwächeren Einzelhandelsnachfrage im Ski-Wake-Bereich sowie gestiegene Kosten für Händleranreize zurück. Das Unternehmen erklärte, die Schwäche spiegele einen allgemeinen Branchentrend in dieser Kategorie und kein Malibu-spezifisches Problem wider, und betonte, man habe weiterhin Marktanteile hinzugewonnen.

Der Nettoumsatz im Segment Saltwater Fishing stieg um 7,1 % auf 68,9 Millionen US-Dollar, gestützt durch höhere Großhandelsauslieferungen im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum, der durch erhöhte Händlerbestände belastet war. Der Umsatz von Cobalt stieg um 18,8 % auf 61,5 Millionen US-Dollar, begünstigt durch höhere Auslieferungen und einen vorteilhaften Modellmix.

Saxdor steuerte 51,1 Millionen US-Dollar zum Umsatz bei und erzielte eine bereinigte EBITDA-Marge von 8 %. Die US-Produktion in Fort Pierce begann im Juli, und die erste in den USA gebaute Saxdor 320 GTO wurde noch vor dem ursprünglichen Herbstziel des Unternehmens fertiggestellt. Das Management sieht an dem Standort eine Kapazität für jährlich 200 Saxdor-Boote, bevor eine Werkserweiterung erforderlich wird.

Das Unternehmen baut zudem den Saxdor-Vertrieb auf dem gesamten amerikanischen Kontinent aus und arbeitet mit MarineMax zusammen, um seine Reichweite in den USA zu vergrößern. Zu den in der Telefonkonferenz hervorgehobenen neuen Produkten zählten die Saxdor 460 GTS und 460 GTC, die überarbeitete Cobalt 265 Coastal Edition, die Pursuit S288, die weiterentwickelte Pursuit OS 445 sowie die Cobia 250DC.

Vorläufige SSI-Daten, auf die sich das Management berief, zeigten, dass die branchenweiten Motorboot-Neuzulassungen von Juli bis September in den Glasfaser-Segmenten, in denen Malibu Boats konkurriert, um rund 11 % zurückgingen. Im September verlangsamte sich das Minus auf lediglich 2 %, während die Towboat-Marken des Unternehmens in diesem Monat zusammen ein Wachstum verzeichneten.

Ausblick des Managements

Infolge der Umstellung des Geschäftsjahresendes vom 30. Juni auf den 31. Dezember werden die sechs Monate bis zum 31. Dezember 2026 als Übergangszeitraum ausgewiesen. Das Unternehmen gab zu bedenken, dass dieser saisonal volumenärmere Zeitraum nicht auf ein Gesamtjahr hochgerechnet werden sollte.

Der Ausblick für den Übergangszeitraum umfasst den bereits gemeldeten Nettoumsatz für das September-Quartal von 252,9 Millionen US-Dollar und ein bereinigtes EBITDA von 14,3 Millionen US-Dollar. Zudem berücksichtigt er Zollkosten auf Basis der derzeit geltenden Sätze sowie bereits umgesetzte Preismaßnahmen.

Das Management erwartet, dass sich die Margen von Saxdor in Richtung 10 % bis 11 % bewegen werden, da die Inlandsproduktion skaliert und sich der Absatzmix hin zu größeren, margenstärkeren Modellen verschiebt. Das Unternehmen geht zudem davon aus, dass das Saxdor-Wachstum bis zum ersten Halbjahr des Kalenderjahres 2027 im mittleren Zehner-Prozentbereich bleiben wird.

Malibu Boats plant, seinen ersten Ausblick für das Kalenderjahr 2027 im März bei der Vorlage der Ergebnisse für das Dezember-Quartal und den Übergangszeitraum zu veröffentlichen.

Risiken und wichtige Beobachtungspunkte

• Erhöhte Finanzierungskosten und ein vorsichtiges Konsumverhalten halten ratensensible Käufer weiterhin an der Seitenlinie, insbesondere in der Kategorie Ski-Wake.
• Das Management rechnet damit, dass verkaufsfördernde Maßnahmen und Händleranreize weiterhin über dem historischen Niveau liegen und die Profitabilität von Malibu belasten werden.
• Das Unternehmen rechnet für den Übergangszeitraum mit einem Marktrückgang um einen mittleren bis hohen einstelligen Prozentsatz, wobei Towboats eher am schwächeren Ende dieser Spanne liegen dürften.
• Die Margen von Saxdor werden weiterhin durch Investitionen in den Hochlauf der Produktion in Fort Pierce sowie einen derzeitigen Produktmix mit Schwerpunkt auf kleineren Booten beeinträchtigt.
• Der Mittelabfluss im September-Quartal war saisonal bedingt hoch und vorratsgetrieben; das Management geht jedoch davon aus, dass der Bedarf an Betriebskapital in der ersten Hälfte des Kalenderjahres 2027 nachlassen wird.
• Der Ausblick unterstellt die derzeit geltenden Zollsätze; Änderungen bei Zöllen, Zinssätzen oder dem Verbrauchervertrauen könnten die Nachfrage und die Kosten beeinflussen.

Wichtigste Punkte der Analysten-Fragerunde

Das Management erklärte, dass die Geschäftsentwicklung im Dezember-Quartal weitgehend dem saisonalen Muster des Vorjahres folgen dürfte. Die Rahmenbedingungen im Einzelhandel dürften über den gesamten Übergangszeitraum hinweg anspruchsvoll bleiben; eine kurzfristige Erholung bei den ratensensiblen Verbrauchern wird nicht erwartet.

Die Händlerbestände lagen zum 30. September im Jahresvergleich um einen niedrigen zweistelligen Prozentsatz niedriger. Das Management erwartet, dass die Bestände während des Übergangszeitraums weiter zurückgehen werden, insbesondere bei Towboats, bevor Großhandelsauslieferungen und Einzelhandelsverkäufe im weiteren Jahresverlauf ein ausgewogeneres Verhältnis erreichen.

Auf der Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show übertrafen die Einzelhandelsverkäufe das Vorjahresniveau, und die durchschnittlichen Verkaufspreise stiegen aufgrund eines hochwertigeren Modellmixes. Das Management bezeichnete die Messe als ermutigenden, aber nur begrenzt aussagekräftigen frühen Indikator für die Bootssaison.

Das Unternehmen hat im Quartal keine Aktien zurückgekauft. Seine Ermächtigung über 70 Millionen US-Dollar bleibt bis zum 30. Juni 2027 in Kraft, und das Management erklärte, Rückkäufe würden neben Schuldenabbau, Betriebskapitalbedarf und organischen Investitionen weiterhin opportunistisch gehandhabt.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good morning and welcome to Malibu Boats conference call to discuss the three months ended September 30, 2026 results. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will follow at that time. of this call in whole or in part is not permitted without written authorization of Malibu Boats. And as a reminder, today's call is being recorded. On the call today from management are Mr. Steve Menneto, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. David Black, Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Mr.

Black to get it started. Please go ahead, sir.

Unknown Speaker

Welcome to Malibu Boats Earnings Conference Call for the three months ended September 30th, 2026. I am David Black, Chief Financial Officer, and joining me today is Steve Minero, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Before we begin, as you may have seen in our press release today, our Board approved a change in our fiscal year from June 30th to December 31st. As a result, the quarter we are reporting today, ended September 30th, 2026, is the first quarter of a six-month transition period and is compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The press release covering these results was issued today and can be found in the investor relations section of our website. Today's Outlook covers the three months ended December 31st, 2026, and the six-month transition period, which I will discuss in more detail later in the call. I also want to remind everyone that remarks on the call may contain certain forward-looking statements, including predictions, expectations, estimates, and other information that might be considered forward-looking, and that actual results could differ materially from those projected on today's call.

You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these for any new information or future events. Factors that might affect future results are discussed in our filings with the SEC, and we encourage you to review our SEC filings for a more detailed description of these risk factors. Please also note that we will be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures on today's call, such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per share, and free cash flow. Reconciliations of these GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures are included in an earnings release. I will now turn the call over to Steve.

Steven Menneto

Thank you, David. Good morning, everyone. Our results for the September quarter reflect a retail environment that softened over the summer and our decision to manage wholesale shipments with discipline to protect dealer health. Net sales increased 29.9% to $252.9 million. Modestly plus. our guided range and adjusted EBITDA increased 21.7% to 14.3 million at the low end of our outlook. Cobalt and our saltwater brands grew volume and Pursuit contributed meaningfully to growth, which was partially offset by a softer ski wake category and lower profitability at Malibu, which I'll come back to. Looking across the portfolio, Cobalt and the saltwater brands both grew volume as they lapped last year's dealer inventory reset. The softer retail environment showed up most in the ski wake boat category, which was under pressure across the industry through the summer.

To be clear, this is a category dynamic, not a Malibu specific issue. We continue to gain share across our portfolio, including at Malibu, even as the category has softened. As a result, we shipped fewer boats and leaned into the support of our dealers, consistent with the guiding principle we have spoken to for the last few years. And it is how we will keep running the business through this part of the cycle. Saxdor contributed 51.1 million of net sales in the quarter. The brand is tracking to our plan with margins consistent with the fourth quarter. As we said in August, Saxdor's margins in the July through December period reflect our investment in the production ramp, and we expect them to step up in the first half of calendar year 2027.

As domestic manufacturing scales and our mix shifts towards larger, more margin accretive models. The real highlight this quarter was Fort Pierce, where U.S. production of SACSTOR is now well underway. We are tracking ahead of schedule. Production began in July, and our first U.S.-built SACSTOR 320 GTO was successfully completed, ahead of our original goal for this fall. In fact, we are now in the process of completing the SACSTOR 320 GTO. Serial production is underway. Right now the focus is on efficient assembly and I want to commend our team for their focus on this seamless ramp. We continue to see a runway to 200 SACSTOR builds a year in Fort Pierce before investing in plant expansion.

Going back to our rationale behind the acquisition, having SACSTOR built in the U.S. puts the brand much closer to its North American dealers and customers and it is where the investment we have made in the platform really starts to work for us. We are also widening Saksdoor's reach, adding new dealers across the Americas, and working with Marine Max to expand distribution in the U.S. and the team continues to bring new products to market, including the 460 GTS, which made its debut in Cannes Yachting Festival in September. Last week, we kicked off the boat show season in Fort Lauderdale with seven of our brands on display. And it is always a great week to be on the docks with our dealers and customers. Cobalt officially launched a completely redesigned 265 Coastal Edition, a luxury runabout built with big water and coastal lifestyle in mind. And several of our newest models were at the show for the first time, including the Pursuit S288 and the newly refined OS 445, Pursuit's flagship, and the all-new Cobia 250DC, which expands Cobia's dual-console offering. Saxdor brought the 460 GTC, the largest and most advanced model in the range, and the brand's entry into the 45-foot to 50-foot category, along with the 350 GTW, alongside our partners at Marine Max. everything together really shows the breadth of this portfolio.

From family runabouts to offshore center consoles to luxury day boats, each built for the different kind of boater. Turning to the backdrop, although the industry retail environment got tougher over the summer, it's important to note that we haven't seen any changes in the fundamentals. Based on the preliminary SSI data, industry powerboat registrations were down approximately 11% for the July through September period with the fiberglass segments where we compete. And Ski Wake in particular, more pressured than the broader market. September was the best month of the year for the industry, down only 2%. have outperformed the industry for several consecutive months with our towboat brands combined seeing growth in September. Elevated finance costs and a cautious consumer continue to keep the payment buyer on the sidelines. And that buyer coming back is ultimately what will drive the broader inflection in industry unit volumes and the cycle overall.

Recent interest rate increases don't help. We haven't seen much change in the buyer behavior. The pressure is most visible in the ski-wake category, where promotional activity and dealer incentive costs increased across the industry. We expect incentives to remain elevated relative to historical levels, and we will continue to align Malibu shipments with retail demand, both on which are reflected in our outlook for the December quarter. Where we can help that buyer, we are. MBI acceptance gives our dealers financing and extended service tools to close the sale with a payment-sensitive customer. And it is one of the most practical levers we have until rates and confidence start working in our favor.

Looking ahead, our dealers are heading into the winter in good shape, with inventories healthier than a year ago and aged inventory low across the portfolio, which is right where we want them as the show season builds. In a market like this, the work that matters most is the work we control, and the MBI Advantage was built for exactly this kind of environment. We continue to push it further. deeper vertical integration, centralized sourcing, and category management across our brands, and now bringing Saxdor into the sourcing organization so it gets the benefit of our scale. Beyond sourcing, we are controlling what we can on cost. Our cost structure is 80% to 90% variable, made up mostly of materials and direct labor, which lets us flex with demand and protect profitability and cash through the cycle. We continue to work the levers we outlined at Investor Day, including lean manufacturing, vertical integration, dual sourcing, and supplier rationalization. And we are not waiting for the mid-cycle market to go after the 250 basis points of outperformance opportunity we identified.

As we reinvest behind new models and ramp production, we would expect some of those dynamics to shift.

Steven Menneto

but our approach to cost is not changing. We are operating in a market that is not giving us much help right now, and we are managing the business accordingly. At the same time, we are making tangible progress on our long-term priorities, from U.S. production of Saxdor at Fort Pierce to the new models we just brought to market. We remain intentional about our outlook until we see more durable evidence of a broader recovery. But our conviction in build, innovate, and grow and the mid-cycle. opportunity in front of us remain strong. With that, I'll turn the call over to David for the detailed review of our financial results. David? Thanks, Steve. The takeaway for the quarter, we navigated a softer ski wear category with discipline.

The cash we used was seasonal and inventory driven. Throughout my remarks, I'll make select references to both consolidated results and and legacy results, which excludes StackStore, to provide a clear view of underlying sales drivers and year-over-year comparability. For the quarter ended September 30th, 2026, net sales increased 58.2 million or 29.9% to 252.9 million compared to the prior year inclusive of 51.1 million from our StackStore segment. On a legacy basis, net sales were approximately 201.8 million, an increase of approximately 3.6%, driven by increased unit volumes at Cobalt and saltwater fishing segments, a favorable model mix in our Cobalt segments, and a favorable segment mix in year-over-year price increases, partially offset by D. decreased unit volumes in the Malibu segment, and increased dealer incentive costs in the Malibu and saltwater fishing segments. Total unit volume increased 15.1% to 1,299 units. This was composed of our legacy unit volume, which increased approximately 2.7% to 1,160 units. While Pursuit contributed 139 units in the quarter.

By segment, net sales attributable to Malibu decreased 9.1% to 71.5 million on their lower wholesale shipments driven by lower retail activity during the period and increased dealer incentive costs. Saltwater fishing net sales increased 7.1% to 68.9 million on higher wholesale shipments against a prior year period impacted by elevated dealer inventory levels. Cobalt net sales increased 18.8% to 61.5 million, also on higher wholesale shipments against a prior year comparison, along with a favorable model mix. From a mix perspective, on a legacy basis, Malibu represented approximately 43% of unit sales. Saltwater Fishing represented 27%, and Cobalt made up the remaining approximately 30%. Net sales per unit increased 12.9% to $194,720 per unit on a consolidated basis. driven by incremental increase related to our new SAC store segment, a favorable segment mix, and year-over-year price increases. On a legacy basis, net sales per unit increased approximately 1% to $174,000.

While not included in this metric for the sake of comparability, SAC Store's net sales per unit was approximately $368,000 for the quarter. Turning to profitability, gross profit increased 35.5% to 37.8 million and gross margin as a percent of sales was 15%. This represents an increase of approximately 70 basis points compared to the prior year period. The increased gross margin was driven primarily by the gross margin of newly acquired SACSTOR. For some further context on SACSTOR's performance, the segment delivered adjusted EBITDA margin of 8% during the period, as we continued investing in the production ramp at Fort Pierce. Selling and marketing expenses increased 32.4% in the three-month period. The increase was driven primarily by higher personnel-related expenses and an incremental increase due to the new SACSTOR segment.

As a percentage of sales, selling and marketing expenses was relatively consistent with prior year at 3.3%. General and administrative expenses decreased 43.9% or 9.1 million. The decrease was driven primarily by 15 million reduction resulting from the de-recognition of a liability related to the insurance proceeds previously received from Star Indemnity and Liability Company that are no longer subject to reservation of rights, as well as decreased incentive pay, partially offset by acquisition and related expenses, incurred due to the new Saks store acquisition and an incremental increase due to the new Saks store segment. As a percentage of sales, G&A expenses were 4.6%. Gap net income for the period was 6.1 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, which includes the 15 million G&A benefit I just described. Adjust EBITDA increased 21.7% to 14.3 million, and Adjust EBITDA margin was 5.7%. Included in this amount was SAC Store segment Adjust EBIT of approximately 4.1 million.

Excluding SAC store, adjusted EBITDA was approximately 10.3 million compared to 11.8 million last year, with the decline driven by Malibu, as described earlier. Adjusted net income per share remained consistent at $0.15 on a basic weighted average share count of approximately 19.7 million. million shares. Both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income exclude the 15 million benefit from the star insurance proceeds, which is reflected in the professional and fees line of our reconciliation. Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow for the three-month period ended September 30th, 2026. We ended the period with 40.3 million of cash, 172.9 million of debt, and approximately 213.5 million of total available liquidity, giving us ample flexibility to support the business through this cycle. Net cash used in operating activities was 31.1 million compared to 6.5 million of cash provided in the prior year. As a reminder, the September quarter is seasonably our heaviest working capital quarter, and we also rebuilt inventory of approximately 32 million after ending fiscal 2026 with an unusually lean balance.

The rebuild is our own inventory, not dealer inventory, and we continue to align wholesale shipments for the retail demand. We also paid annual compensation and dealer incentives during the period. We expect working capital needs to decrease through the first half of calendar 2027. We also invested 8.4 million in capital expenditures, resulting in a negative free cash flow of 39.5 million for the quarter, compared to free cash flow of 2.5 million. 2.3 million in the prior year period. The change was more than accounted for by the inventory rebuild and the annual compensation and dealer incentive payments. For context, free cash flow was negative 17 million in the September quarter of fiscal 2025 and positive for that full year. In fiscal 2026, we generated approximately 43 million of free cash flow and roughly 58% of adjusted EBITDA.

As a reminder, the refinancing we completed in July extended our maturity to 2031 and enhanced our financial flexibility with no change in our capital allocation priorities. On capital allocation, during the three month period, we did not repurchase any shares. And our 70 million share repurchase authorization, which runs through June 30th, 2027 remains in place. Net leverage was approximately one and a half times at September 30th on a pro forma basis up from approximately one times at June 30th, reflecting the seasonal use of cash and well within our stated maximum of two and a half times. We remain balanced and disciplined in allocating capital and well-positioned to keep investing in the business alongside returning capital to shareholders. Turning to our outlook, as I mentioned at the start of the call, on November 3rd, our board approved a change in our fiscal year end from June 30th to December 31st. As a result, the six-month from July through December 31st, 2026, will be a transition period, which we will report on a transition report on Form 10-KT.

And our first full fiscal year under the new calendar will be the 12 months ended December 31, 2027. Because the 12 months ended June 30, 2027 will not be a reporting period, the outlook we provided on August 27 is superseded by the outlook we issued today. For the three months ended December 31st, we anticipate net sales of 236 million to 248 million and adjusted EBITDA of 13 million to 15 million. For the six-month transition period, which includes our September quarter net sales of 252.9 million and adjusted EBITDA, of 14.3 million as reported, we anticipate net sales of 489 million to 501 million and adjusted EBITDA of 27.3 million to 29.3 million. outlook takes a prudent view of the industry retail demand given the macro backdrop. It also reflects tariff costs embedded at the currently enacted rates and the pricing actions we have already taken in the market. July through December is a seasonally lower volume period for our business, so the results for the transition period should not be annualized. And as we noted in August, margins in this period will be lower than in the following six months, primarily driven by our investment in ramp at Sax Store.

That is playing out as we expected, and it includes Saxdor production mix that is weighted towards smaller boats today. on the transition period, as domestic manufacturing scales and the broader revenue mix shifts towards larger, more margin-accretive models, we continue to expect SAC store margins to ramp up towards the 10% to 11% range we discussed in August and also expect SAC store growth to remain in the mid-teens range through the year. the first half of the calendar 2027. Our thinking on that has not changed. We expect to provide our initial calendar year 2027 outlook in March when we report our December quarter and transition period results As always, reconciliations of our guidance measures are addressed in our earnings release. To close, our September quarter reflected a softer retail environment and our decision to protect dealer health with Saks Store, Cobalt, and Saltwater Brands helping offset the softer skiway category. Legacy operations executed with discipline through the demanding environment, the Saks Store integration is progressing well with U.S. production now underway at Fort Pierce, sheet gives us the flexibility to support the business through the cycle. With a refinanced credit facility, our buyback authorization, and a differentiated portfolio, we are well positioned to execute through the transition period and into calendar 2027 and to capture the mid-cycle opportunity we framed for you at the investor day. We will keep aligning shipments with retail demand, and we look forward to providing our calendar 2027 outlook in March.

With that, I'd like to open the call up for questions.

Operator

Thank you and as a reminder to ask a question you will need to press star one on your touch tone telephone. If your question has been answered or you wish to withdraw your question, please press star one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. And your first question comes from the line of Joe with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Fragen und Antworten

Joseph Nicholas Altobello

Hey, everyone. Mitchell Engel is on for Joe Altobello. My first question is, can you help us bridge from the September quarter to the December quarter on your guidance, particularly for the legacy side? How should we think about the sequential revenue decline in terms of normal seasonality? And what's your view on retail demand and wholesale shipments and how demand trends perform quarter to date?.

Steven Menneto

Yes, hey, this is David. Yes, so the way that I would think about that, you know, as we talked about in our original guide, we expected the first half to be lower than the second half. If you look at prior year from a cadence perspective, I would expect it to follow a similar trajectory. From a retail perspective, we expect the conditions currently to continue right through the first half of our transition period. And so, you know, we're expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a mid to high single-digit decline from the market perspective with the towboat segment being kind of on the lower end of that or the higher end of that decline.

Joseph Nicholas Altobello

That's helpful, thanks. And then on the ski wake demand, can you provide some additional color on what you're seeing for that category? I know the industry has been soft and you're gaining share. So what are you seeing on the affordability financing side? any difference between the income cohorts and how would you describe a retail trends right now?.

Steven Menneto

Yes, Mitchell, we're still seeing, you know, kind of the same trend persist where payment buyers still on the sideline, you know, for the most part. We're trying to help them out with our MBI acceptance and with better, you know, better financing rates and so forth. But we do see the feature-rich boats still in play, the custom orders coming in from consumers and dealers and so forth. So we still see that K-economy effect moving forward in the towboat segment. Appreciate the call. Thanks a lot.

Operator

And your next question comes from the line of Jamie Katz with Morningstar. Please go ahead.

Jaime Katz

Hey, good morning guys. Can you talk a little bit about inventory reduction expectations? I guess a lot of other companies are talking about wholesale matching retail, but it sounds like we have maybe further reductions to go at Malibu, so I guess where are we in the You talked a little bit about inventory reduction, and I guess a lot of other companies are talking about wholesale mode, but it sounds like we've made some MOMS. and what does that sort of look like over the next year?.

Steven Menneto

over the course of the forward quarters. Jamie, we... Go ahead, David. Yes, no, hey, Jamie. I think what we said is we expected inventory to modestly decrease on a year-over-year basis. for the quarter ended September 30th, we actually saw low double digit decline on versus the prior year from a dealer inventory perspective. I think you're right from its category specific. I think as the market continues to be weak on the towboat side of things, we'd expect inventory to decline as you know kind of the value of the week decreases in tandem with that. But we think as the year progresses, right, and as we said originally, we expect retail to match wholesale on a more equilibrium basis. But right now, for the transition period, we expect the decline to continue.

Jaime Katz

Okay. And then how do you think about the cadence of the buybacks from authorization, the share price down and compelling versus a difficult environment and maybe holding on to more dry powder? How do you have sort of the thought about when the time to buy back is? And how should we be thinking about the cadence of inventory reduction? You know, we have the down comping versus the difficult comps, the timing to.

Steven Menneto

back shares changed at all? Yes, no change there. I think Q1 is typically our seasonably higher working capital use quarter. And so we will still continue to be opportunistic as we move through kind of the remainder of the year. And as we have working capital needs, we'll focus on on those as well and pay down debt and invest organically. So no real change there, and I'd expect us to be opportunistic as we continue to move forward. Great, thanks. And your next question,.

Operator

from the line of Mike Albanese with StoneX. Please go ahead.

Michael Albanese

Hey, good morning guys. Thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering if you could add a little bit of color on early season boat show trends, kind of, you know, what you saw versus prior years or versus expectations. you know, ordering patterns, deposit activity, traffic, just, you know, really anything you could add would be helpful. Hey, Mike, Steve, thanks.

Steven Menneto

We just got back from Flibs and it's only one data point of Flibs, but we were really excited about Flibs. We year over year outpaced last year at Flibs in terms of retail sales. sold boats the ASPs were up so the model mix was rich and so it was a really compelling flibs for us across the seven brands that we had there so we're walking away with one data point of and that's a good start to the boat show season.

Operator

Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Anna Glaessgen with B Riley Securities, please go ahead.

Anna Glaessgen

Hi, good morning, thanks for taking my questions. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions on retail. I wanted to bridge some of your comments in the prepared remarks. On the one hand, we saw retail, it sounds like it a little bit softer over the summer, but then you're saying fundamentally things haven't changed and then we saw a much better September. I guess if you could connect the dots there and maybe share some perspective on October following that relatively stronger September. Thanks.

Steven Menneto

Yes, sure. Hey, Anand. So, to kind of bridge the difference there, we really saw kind of the, the weakness more than we expected, right, in the towboat segments. I think other segments are operating the way that we originally expected. And so, you know, that coupled with a little bit more competitiveness on the promotional side is really kind of what's changed, right, from kind of the previous remarks that we had had. And as we continue to move forward, we expect that trend to continue on the towboat side of things. But as Steve said, we had some very strong positivity coming out of FLIBS. And so we expect that to translate into kind of the back half of the year as we move back into the selling season. Thank you.

Anna Glaessgen

Got it, and as you're setting expectations for the coming fiscal year, Given that, we still see pressure with the payment buyer, potentially another rate hike in December. In the near to medium term period, are you baking in any improvement to that buyer or expecting things to continue as they are now?.

Steven Menneto

Yes, we're going to continue to expect to see the same as we said in our prepared remarks. You know, we're prepared if we see a change in that consumer. We're doing, you know, using all of our tools that we can with MBI acceptance, supporting the dealers and being competitive with promo to help that buyer out. But our, you know, we're going to continue. to operate in that mode in fiscal 27 or calendar 27. And, David, you can add from the what's in the guide.

Steven Menneto

Yes, no, and as I said, I expected that, you know, in the guide that we'd be that mid to high single digit for the transition period. And so no change there from kind of the payment makeup, you know, from, you know, financing versus, you know, payment buyer.

Operator

Thanks. And your next question comes from the line of Derek Johnson with Seaport Research. Please go ahead.

Gerrick Johnson

Thank you. Good morning. Hey, can you talk about the period expense that you had in a quarter owing to the startup of Saks Door in the U.S., and what kind of expense incremental expense you're expecting over the next several quarters as that ramp continues?.

Steven Menneto

Yes, hey, Derek. So, you know, I think what we talked about is, you know, margins will get a little bit better as we move through for SAC stores. We moved through the first half of the year. And you saw that kind of with SAC Store for the first quarter. As we continue to ramp up production, we expect that will continue to decrease the investment piece of it and our margins will continue to grow. And so if you recall, we said kind of lower margins in the first half versus the second half. And so we expect that to follow suit.

Gerrick Johnson

All right. Okay. And then maybe on gross margin, is there any perhaps bridge you can provide us, you know, scale, SAC store, promo, sourcing, efficiencies, commodities?.

Steven Menneto

Yes, so from a year-over-year with 70 basis points up, what I would tell you is about half of that was SAC Store's contribution, and the other portion of that is the legacy business on the incremental revenue offset by higher promotional costs at Malibu and lower revenue at Malibu. Okay, and you also talked about incentives in saltwater. What brands were you putting some promos on there? So I think the promo environment just on a year-over-year basis was up, but it wasn't as significant as on the Malibu side. I would tell you it's very normal at this time of year as you think about the boat show season coming in for promos to be kind of a little bit more elevated in the saltwater group. So I think it's just a smaller piece of that of that pie. Okay. All right. Thank you.

Operator

And I'm showing no further questions at this time. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.

This live transcript is auto-generated without human intervention or review.

[Call has ended.]

This live transcript is auto-generated without human intervention or review.