10:32 AM EDT, 06/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Thor Industries ( THO ) reported a surprise increase in fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales year over year, while the recreational vehicle maker reiterated its full-year outlook despite macroeconomic uncertainties.

The company posted earnings of $2.53 a share for the quarter ended April, up from $2.13 the year before, defying the consensus on FactSet for a decrease to $1.79. Sales improved to $2.89 billion from $2.8 billion, while the Street's view was for a decline to $2.61 billion. The stock rose 3.9% in Wednesday trade.

"Our third-quarter results exceeded our expectations on both the top and bottom lines," Chief Executive Bob Martin said in a statement. "The successful execution of key strategic initiatives, in particular placing further emphasis on driving down our cost profile, led to improved margins in an environment where we saw modest year-over-year top-line improvement."

For fiscal 2025, the RV maker continues to project earnings to be in a range of $3.30 to $4 per share and sales to come in between $9 billion and $9.5 billion. The average analyst estimate on FactSet is for EPS of $3.35 and sales of $9.24 billion.

"While we are maintaining our revised full-year guidance, we recognize that potential swings from uncertainties in the macro environment could be significant," Chief Operating Officer Todd Woelfer said. "Due to recent developments in trade policies, and considering the remaining duration of our fiscal year, Thor believes that its performance is still slated to fall solidly within its previously announced guidance, assuming no new material shifts within the macro or global trade environment."

Global trade tensions were recently renewed after the US and China accused each other of violating a preliminary trade deal reached between the two countries last month. Recently, the US Court of International Trade ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by imposing duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but a federal appeals court temporarily paused that ruling.

Thor anticipates the ongoing quarter and subsequent three-month period to be "challenging," as current economic uncertainties weigh on consumer confidence and negatively impact retail pull-through, according to Martin. The company expects consumer confidence to improve and the retail environment to rebound upon the "resolution of this uncertainty," Martin said.

"Our focus will remain on controlling what we can control and prudently managing the company through the macroeconomic challenges," the CEO added.

North American towable RV sales advanced 9.1% to $1.17 billion in the third quarter, buoyed by higher unit shipments and overall net price per unit, according to the company. Revenue from motorized RVs in North America inclined 3.1% to $666.7 million amid an 11% gain in unit shipments. European RV sales fell to $883.5 million from $931.1 million due to a 12% drop in unit shipments, partially offset by a 7.1% increase in net price per unit.

"We prudently managed our operations to align with the expected difficult market conditions," Woelfer said. "We are confident that we are well-positioned to return to share gains over the longer term."

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