Swedish-based Thule Group, maker of cargo carriers for cars and other outdoor products, saw net sales decline 21% in constant currency in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year.
Sales totaled SEK1,651 million (US$159 million) due to a slowdown in sales of bike-related products to the retail channel, according to the company.
Retailers attempted to lower their inventory following “excessively large preseason orders,” the company said in a statement.
For the full year, Thule sales totaled SEK10,138 million (US$978 million), down 9.7% in constant currency compared to 2021, a record year for the company.
That’s still 40.6% better than 2019, the year before the pandemic.
Bike-related products accounted for 41% of sales in 2022.
Sales in the RV products category increased 15% in constant currency last year, and the packs, bags, and luggage category grew by 20%.
During the fourth quarter, the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin was 0.2%.
The company said an unfavorable product mix, underutilized production capacity, continued high prices for raw materials and freight as well as its ambitious investments in future growth meant that the EBIT margin declined year-on-year and totaled 16.8%.
“Since both our own and retailer inventory levels before the start of the season are higher than previous years, we will ramp up the manufacturing capacity later than usual, which is positive from a cash-flow perspective,” Magnus Welander, outgoing Thule CEO and president, said in a statement.
Thule Group’s board of directors appointed Mattias Ankarberg as the new president and CEO of the company after the fiscal year.
Thule Group AB is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm as THULE.ST.
