Fredric Zinn
Analyst · Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group
Thank you, Jeff, and thank you all for joining us on the call today. Our sales growth in the first quarter of 2012 was exceptionally strong. And this strength has continued in the second quarter of the year. This growth was a result of both acquisitions that we've made in the past 2 years, which added about $25 million to our first quarter sales, as well as increased industry-wide RV and Manufactured Housing production levels, which added an estimated $20 million.
Among our top priorities for 2012, is to achieve favorable returns on the acquisitions and other investments we've made over the last few years. In the first quarter, we made progress towards this goal, which, along with higher sales volume, helped us double our EBIT margin compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. We still have a way to go but margins are headed in the right direction.
A key measure of our long-term success has been our ability to generate substantial returns on the capital we invest in growth opportunities. In both 2010 and 2011, our after-tax return on invested capital put us above the 80th percentile of all companies in the Russell 2000 index. We're particularly proud of this achievement in light of the fact that the industry-wide RV production in 2010 and '11 was still well below the peak levels reached before the recession. And industry-wide production of Manufactured Housing -- in the Manufactured Housing industry was nearly 50% below the 2007 production revenue, yet our returns were high.
With further improvement in both the RV and Manufactured Housing industries in the coming years, and with continuing increases in the profit returns on the acquisitions and other investments we've made, I expect that our return on invested capital will also increase.
Looking forward, we'll continue to seek growth opportunities in the RV and Manufactured Housing markets, which will remain the foundation of our success. However, in the coming years, we also anticipate that an increasing portion of our sales growth will be generated in new markets and from the sales of news type of products. We have a broad array of growth opportunities, both within and outside our core markets.
For example, our recently introduced awning products, aftermarket products for RVs and manufactured homes, components for a wide variety of cargo and utility trailers and buses and our new aluminum extrusions. Collectively, these new markets and products have a total market potential significantly in excess of $500 million annually. We believe that we have competitive advantages that will enable us to gain significant market share in these new areas over time, just as we have in our core market and products. Of course, we'll need to execute our plans to grow profitably.
In certain of these new markets and products, we'll face new competitors, we'll incur some startup costs and we'll often have to establish ourselves as the supplier of choice among the leading customers. And to be successful, we'll have to continue to invest in both people and production capacity. As a result, we anticipate that our incremental margins on sales growth in these areas will initially be somewhat lower than the incremental margins of about 20% that we have historically targeted in our core markets and products.
This factor had a modest impact on our incremental margins in the first quarter of 2012. In addition to our competitive cost advantages, I believe that the “customer first” corporate culture, which is part of the DNA, so to speak, of the entire operating management team, will continue to serve us very well as we expand in these new markets. By providing our customers with innovative and value-added products, as well as top-notch service and on-time delivery, all at a fair price, we expect to stay ahead of competition.
To a large extent, this culture has been responsible for our success over the years. We couldn't have achieved a threefold increase in our content per total RV over the last decade without the confidence and satisfaction of our customers.
A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time with 90 key managers from all facets of our business who were gathered at our annual managers' meeting to discuss ideas and plans and share best practices. What impressed me the most was the fountain of ideas that flowed from the people in the group, and each idea was focused on meeting and exceeding the current needs of customers or anticipating their future needs. Jason and his team also promote a corporate culture of continuous improvement in product design, in manufacturing processes and many other facets of our business. At the managers’ meeting, it was encouraging to me to hear ideas exchanged between our long-term managers and new managers we've gained in recent acquisitions.
Over the years, Drew has completed numerous acquisitions, as you know, and we often make note of the tangible financial benefit we gain from those acquisitions. But the intangible benefits we've gained from acquisitions have also been important over the long term. From highly-qualified managers who may be ready to take on expanded responsibilities, to customer relationships, to new approaches to manufacturing and quality control. All have added to our success.
Over the remainder of 2012 and beyond, we'll continue to strive for progress toward each of our primary long-term goals, including growth in our core markets, diversification into adjacent markets and further improvements in our production efficiencies and cost structure.
Now I'll ask Joe to discuss our results in some more detail.