MasterCraft today reported a 19 per cent increase in sales for the first half of its fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, compared to the same period the year before. The privately held company did not release actual sales or earnings numbers. It said in a statement that this is its seventh consecutive year of "record-breaking performance".

"Despite difficult times in many segments of the economy, MasterCraft has been able to increase unit sales, market share, and earnings over last year," said John Dorton, president and CEO of MasterCraft, in the statement. "However this growth hasn't been easy, especially amid the many challenges facing our industry. In fact, we have seen some of our traditionally strong domestic geographic regions struggle while others have shown impressive growth leaving our North American business somewhat flat. Nonetheless our investment in global initiatives is paying off as our international business continues double digit growth every year."

The Tennessee boatbuilder has also gained three awards in the last month. JD Power & Associates acknowledged MasterCraft as being ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Ski and Wakeboard Boats". The NMMA and boats.com presented MasterCraft with the North American Marine Industry Web Award for the Best Marine Site Overall. The company website prevailed over nearly 100 entries. East Tennessee APICS, the association for Operations Management, also announced last week that MasterCraft Boat Company is the East Tennessee APICS Manufacturer of the Year for 2007. According to APICS, MasterCraft's "lean manufacturing implementation is the best in the region".

"I believe we are winning the game right now because we are sticking to what has always made MasterCraft great superior products and processes aimed at an exceptional buyer," said Dorton.