The Quebec based owner of Austrian engine manufacturer Rotax - BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) - has seen its balance sheet come under extreme pressure this past year, largely due to declines in recreational marine, snowmobile (Ski-Doo), PWC (Sea-Doo), ATV and UTV (SxS) vehicle sales in USA.
Having tried to match its competitor Polaris Industries with an ambitious expansion programme to establish itself as a leader in the recreational marine sector, it has now announced a volte face, stating that it has started the sales process for its entire recreational boats division (assuming a viable buyer can be found).
The brands concerned include Alumacraft, Telwater and Manitou - which has a new, recently hired CEO in the shape of former Polaris Off-Road and Indian Motorcycle divisional GM Steve Menneto.
BRP only acquired Manitou (from Triton) in 2018. Two years later, it announced a slowdown of all and suspension of some marine segment product manufacturing, followed by the complete closure of famous outboard motor brand Evinrude.
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| At this stage, the plan to see three-wheel roadster and ATV manufacturer CanAm return to the motorcycle market still appears to be going ahead. CanAm stopped making off-road bikes in 1987. Only this past summer, BRP unveiled the final production protypes of its urban CanAm 'Pulse' and adventure oriented 'Origin' electric motorcycles. In September, it announced that its dealers were now accepting pre-orders, with inventory expected to start to arrive at showrooms in France, Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, the United States and Canada by the end of this year. |
Since then, BRP had also been following an aggressive expansion programme to build adjacencies, especially electric vehicle capabilities, here in Europe as well as in North America. Here in Europe acquisitions have included Great Wall Motor GmbH in Austria and an 80% ownership stake in Denkendorf, Germany based Pinion GmbH, among others. Last year (2023) saw BRP open a brand-new, reassuringly expensive state-of-the-art European Design and Innovation Centre on the Cote d'Azur.
BRP revealed that revenues had declined to CAN $3,873.6m for the first half of 2024 (-25.6%), compared to H1 2023 revenues of $5,207.4m. Gross profit was down to $856.5 (22.1%); EBITDA had nearly halved and net income of $493.2m became a net loss of CAN $0.2m this year.
BRP full year guidance for 2025 puts year-round product revenues down by between 20 and 22%, with seasonals down 30 to 33% and Marine down 40 to 50%.
"Our results were in line with expectations," said José Boisjoli, President and CEO of BRP, "and reflect our ongoing focus on reducing network inventory to maintain our dealer value proposition.
"We have made great strides on that front, but the retail environment is more challenging with the economic context pressuring consumer demand. As such, our priority is to continue to proactively manage production and inventory levels, which leads us to revise our year-end guidance."
