Marine Products Corporation (NYSE:MPX)

Marine Products Corporation (NYSE:MPX) ($13.23; $452.6 M market cap), a designer, manufacturer, and seller of recreational fiberglass powerboats for the sportboat, sport fishing, and jet boat markets worldwide, reported its Q4 2022 results:

• Sales of $108.5 million vs $76.5 million in the prior year and well ahead of analyst estimates of $75.3 million
• EPS of $0.35 vs $0.25 in the prior year and well ahead of analyst estimates of $0.21

“During the fourth quarter our supply chain and transportation issues continued to improve, allowing us to increase boat shipments to satisfy dealer demand for new 2023 models," stated Ben M. Palmer, Marine Products' President and Chief Executive Officer. "In fact, our fourth quarter 2022 shipments were the highest of any quarter in 2022 in spite of the seasonal impact of two holidays. In addition to higher unit sales, these positive developments lowered our working capital requirements, which are reflected in lower inventories and a higher cash balance than at the end of the third quarter. While production and transportation challenges continue, we are pleased with the improvement. At the end of the quarter, field inventories began to increase to support our dealers during the upcoming 2023 winter boat show season.

"Indications of attendance and orders from the early boat shows are positive, so we are maintaining a high production schedule and have allocated dealer deliveries through the first quarter. As the retail selling season gets underway, however, we will monitor market indications from the upcoming winter boat shows for any changes in customer demand caused by interest rate increases and economic uncertainty," concluded Palmer.

We encourage you to read a recent Seeking Alpha article titled, Marine Products Corporation: A Microcap Gem for more background on the story.