Champion Enterprises Inc. reported 3rd quarter earnings today, October 16, 2007.
To no ones surprise, the manufacturing segment net sales fell 11 percent to $260.4 million, down from $293.4 million for the same period of the prior year.
Revenues from modular home sales for the quarter were $80 million, down from $89 million in the third quarter of 2006. imagine that!
The bright spot for Champion Enterprises was the International Manufacturing Segment. It so happens that it grew 176 percent due to strong spending in the U.K. prison system. When you can't maintain sales at home, sell across the pond to the U.K. prison system.
When you think about it, it makes sense, who is going to listen when the prisoners complain about the quality of construction? So no doubt Champion Enterprises has a corner on the U.K. prison market, build them cheap and crank them out.
Champion blamed the falling revenue in the modular segment on the softness in the California housing market. Last I knew, Champion was offering product in most of the fifty states, so to blame California is laughable. Maybe, just maybe, Champion Enterprises should take a closer look at the lack of quality in their products before blaming softness in the marketplace for declining sales.
