Thor Industries Inc. Q3 Misses Views On Narrower Gross Margin

Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) missed earnings expectations Monday for the fiscal first-quarter, when its gross profit margin narrowed to 12.8 percent from 13.1 percent a year earlier.In the extended session, Thor traded recently at $56 a share, down about 3 percent.The Elkhart, Indiana maker of recreation vehicles blamed the narrower margin on a "tight labor market in northern Indiana" as well as other employee-related costs, changes in product mix and a slight increase in warranty expenses.Thor didn't offer an outlook, but Chairman Peter B. Orthwein said the company's recent investments in increased capacity "should begin to pay off as we move through the fiscal year." Net income from continuing operations for the first quarter increased 8 percent to $39.2 million, or $0.73 cents a share, from $36.4 million, or $0.68 cents a share in the year-earlier period.Sales from continuing operations grew 15 percent to $922 million, from $800.0 million last year.Wall Street expected $0.81 cents a share, on sales of $903.87 million.