Campervan company’s profits tumble
Tourism Holdings Ltd (THL) is recovering better than expected in an economic environment dominated by the fallout from coronavirus.
The campervan rental company and tourism operator has reported an underlying net profit after tax of $20 million in its annual results.
That’s down by 28 per cent on 2018/19, but is better than its previous post-Covid guidance of between $17.5m and $19.5m.
THL’s reported revenue was $401m in year to June 30, which down by five per cent, while no final dividend has been declared for 2019/20.
Chief executive Grant Webster says the company has an “unwavering focus” on managing the impact of international border closures and lockdowns on its core businesses, while developing and implementing product offerings as an essential services provider and cashing in on RV demand to slash debt.
He adds: “With good control of the balance sheet and strong ongoing demand for RV sales to date, we have prepared ourselves to operate in the current domestic market environment and are positioned to recover at pace when international tourism returns.”
THL owns Britz, Maui, and Mighty campervan brands in New Zealand. Rob Campbell, chairman, describes the results as an “admirable achievement” given the impact of Covid-19 since March.
The $20m net profit figure does not account for one-off items, such as a $3.1m goodwill write-off attributed to the company’s tourism operator arm, Kiwi Experience. These take THL’s statutory net profit after tax to $27.4m for an eight per cent year-on-year drop.
Earnings from a large campervan sell-off, which was announced earlier this year, are expected to continue, with the previous target of up to 2,350 units upped to 3,000. It ties into the launch of the Great New Zealand Motorhome Sale, which will try to sell off 1,000 more.
Vehicle sales between the start of April and the end of June accounted for $53m in revenue for the company, a 35 per cent hike increase on such revenue in the same period of 2019. Rental revenue was down 56 per cent to $43m compared to $99m over the same time frame.
These sales will be slightly counteracted by an order of 300 new campervans in the US and expectations to buy 650 more during 2020/21. Without the international market, THL expects it has 35 to 45 per cent excess fleet capacity on a global basis based on its starting financial year 2020 fleet size.
