말리부 보츠(MBUU) 2027 회계연도 1분기 실적 발표 콘퍼런스콜: 매출 29.9% 증가, 12월 전망 제시

핵심 요약

• 말리부 보츠의 9월 분기 순매출은 전년 동기 대비 29.9% 증가한 2억 5,290만 달러에 달했다. 여기에는 5,110만 달러의 삭스도어 매출이 포함됐다. 기존 사업 순매출은 약 3.6% 증가한 2억 180만 달러를 기록했다.
• 조정 EBITDA는 21.7% 증가한 1,430만 달러를 기록했으며, 조정 EBITDA 마진은 5.7%였다. 삭스도어를 제외한 조정 EBITDA는 1,180만 달러에서 약 1,030만 달러로 감소했는데, 이는 주로 말리부 실적 부진에 기인했다.
• 말리부 부문 매출은 9.1% 감소한 7,150만 달러에 그쳤는데, 이는 스키·웨이크보트 소매 수요 둔화, 도매 출하량 감소, 딜러 인센티브 증가가 실적에 부담으로 작용한 결과다. 코발트와 솔트워터 피싱 매출은 각각 18.8% 및 7.1% 증가했다.
• 삭스도어는 8%의 조정 EBITDA 마진을 창출한 한편, 말리부 보츠는 미국 내 생산 증대를 위한 투자를 지속했다. 포트피어스 공장에서는 당초 일정보다 앞서 삭스도어 320 GTO의 양산이 진행되고 있다.
• 경영진은 신중한 소매 수요 전망을 바탕으로 12월 분기 순매출을 2억 3,600만~2억 4,800만 달러, 조정 EBITDA를 1,300만~1,500만 달러로 제시했다.
• 잉여현금흐름은 마이너스(-) 3,950만 달러를 기록했는데, 이는 주로 약 3,200만 달러 규모의 재고 재축적과 연례 보상금 지급, 딜러 인센티브를 반영한 결과다. 경영진은 2027년 상반기 중에 운전자본 소요가 감소할 것으로 예상하고 있다.

주요 재무 데이터

사업 및 운영 실적

말리부 부문 순매출은 9.1% 감소한 7,150만 달러를 기록했다. 경영진은 스키·웨이크보트 소매 활동 둔화에 맞춘 도매 출하량 축소와 딜러 인센티브 비용 증가를 이번 감소의 원인으로 꼽았다. 회사 측은 이러한 부진이 말리부만의 문제가 아니라 업계 전반의 카테고리 트렌드를 반영한 것이라며, 시장 점유율은 계속 확대하고 있다고 밝혔다.

솔트워터 피싱 순매출은 7.1% 증가한 6,890만 달러에 달했는데, 이는 높은 딜러 재고의 영향을 받았던 전년 동기 대비 도매 출하량이 늘어난 덕분이다. 코발트 매출은 18.8% 증가한 6,150만 달러로, 출하량 증가와 우호적인 모델 믹스의 수혜를 입었다.

삭스도어는 5,110만 달러의 매출과 8%의 조정 EBITDA 마진을 기여했다. 7월 포트피어스에서 미국 내 생산이 시작되었으며, 미국에서 건조된 첫 번째 삭스도어 320 GTO는 회사의 당초 가을 목표보다 앞서 완성됐다. 경영진은 공장 증설 없이도 해당 시설에서 연간 200대의 삭스도어 보트를 생산할 수 있는 능력을 갖춘 것으로 보고 있다.

회사는 또한 아메리카 대륙 전역에서 삭스도어 유통망을 확장하고 있으며, 미국 내 판매망 확대를 위해 마린맥스(MarineMax)와 협력하고 있다. 이번 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜에서 강조된 신제품으로는 삭스도어 460 GTS 및 460 GTC, 새롭게 디자인된 코발트 265 코스탈 에디션(Coastal Edition), 퍼슈트 S288, 개선된 퍼슈트 OS 445 및 코비아 250DC 등이 있다.

경영진이 인용한 잠정 SSI 데이터에 따르면, 말리부 보츠가 경쟁하는 유리섬유 보트 부문에서 7~9월 업계 파워보트 등록 건수는 약 11% 감소했다. 9월에는 감소 폭이 2%로 축소되며 개선세를 나타냈으며, 회사 측은 해당 월에 자사의 토우보트 브랜드 합산 실적이 성장을 기록했다고 밝혔다.

경영진 가이던스

회계연도 말일이 6월 30일에서 12월 31일로 변경됨에 따라, 2026년 12월 31일로 마감되는 6개월 기간은 전환 기간(transition period)으로 보고될 예정이다. 회사 측은 계절적으로 판매량이 적은 이 기간의 실적을 연환산해서는 안 된다고 당부했다.

전환 기간 전망치에는 이미 발표된 9월 분기 순매출 2억 5,290만 달러와 조정 EBITDA 1,430만 달러가 포함되어 있다. 또한 현재 발효된 세율 기준의 관세 비용과 이미 시행된 가격 정책도 반영됐다.

경영진은 미국 내 제조 규모가 확대되고 마진 기여도가 높은 대형 모델 중심으로 매출 믹스가 이동함에 따라 삭스도어 마진이 10%~11% 수준으로 향할 것으로 기대하고 있다. 또한 삭스도어의 성장률이 2027년 상반기까지 10%대 중반 수준을 유지할 것으로 내다봤다.

말리부 보츠는 12월 분기 및 전환 기간 실적을 발표하는 오는 3월에 2027년 연간 가이던스를 처음 제시할 계획이다.

리스크 및 주요 관전 포인트

• 높은 금융 비용과 신중해진 소비자 심리로 인해 특히 스키·웨이크 카테고리에서 할부 등 금융 조건에 민감한 구매자들의 관망세가 이어지고 있다.
• 경영진은 프로모션 활동과 딜러 인센티브가 과거 수준을 웃돌며 말리부의 수익성을 압박할 것으로 예상하고 있다.
• 회사 측은 전환 기간 동안 시장이 한 자릿수 중후반대 비율로 감소할 것으로 예상하고 있으며, 토우보트는 이 범위 중에서도 부진한 쪽에 가까울 것으로 내다봤다.
• 삭스도어 마진은 포트피어스 공장의 생산 증대 투자와 소형 보트 중심의 현재 제품 믹스로 인해 지속적으로 압박을 받고 있다.
• 9월 분기 현금 유출은 계절적 요인과 재고 축적에 기인해 높은 수준을 보였으나, 경영진은 2027년 상반기에는 운전자본 소요가 완화될 것으로 예상하고 있다.
• 이번 전망치는 현재 발효된 관세율을 가정한 것으로, 관세나 금리, 소비자 심리의 변화가 수요와 비용에 영향을 미칠 수 있다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

경영진은 12월 분기 실적이 대체로 전년도의 계절적 패턴을 따를 것으로 보인다고 밝혔다. 소매 여건은 전환 기간 내내 까다로운 상태를 유지할 것으로 예상되며, 결제 민감도가 높은 소비자의 단기 회복세는 가정하지 않았다.

9월 30일 기준 딜러 재고는 전년 동기 대비 10%대 초반 감소했다. 경영진은 전환 기간 동안 특히 토우보트를 중심으로 재고 감소세가 이어질 것으로 예상하며, 이후 연간 진행 상황에 맞춰 도매 출하량과 소매 판매가 보다 균형 잡힌 수준으로 이동할 것으로 보고 있다.

포트로더데일 국제 보트 쇼에서는 소매 판매가 전년 행사 수준을 웃돌았고, 고가 모델 믹스 개선에 힘입어 평균판매단가(ASP)가 상승했다. 경영진은 이번 행사가 보트 쇼 시즌을 앞두고 고무적이지만 아직은 제한적인 초기 지표라고 평가했다.

회사는 이번 분기 동안 자사주 매입을 진행하지 않았다. 7,000만 달러 규모의 자사주 매입 승인 한도는 2027년 6월 30일까지 유지되며, 경영진은 부채 감축, 운전자본 소요, 자체 투자와 함께 기회주의적으로 자사주를 매입할 방침이라고 밝혔다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

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.

질의응답

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.

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