There were few bright spots in the latest earnings report from Polaris. Thankfully, Polaris' Victory motorcycle line saw a 60% increase in sales and there was exceptionally strong growth in the Polaris Ranger utility vehicle product line. Unfortunately, both the ATV and snowmobile departments saw heavy earnings declines.
The snowmobile division saw sales drop 16% to $87.2 million, compared to $104.2 million for the 3rd quarter of 2005. Dealer orders were down as a result of large carry-over inventory levels stemming from quality issues with the 2005-2006 models and several consecutive years of below average snowfalls in main snowmobile markets. Year-to-date snowmobile sales were only $95 million, compared to $162.3 million in 2005.
ATV sales were also down for the 3rd quarter. A 9% decrease in ATV year-to-date sales from $931.7 to $838.6 million was realized from last year's 3rd quarter to this year's. Third quarter sales decreased even more from 2005 to 2006, falling 12%.
Total company 3rd quarter sales were not pretty either, sliding 10% from $543.1 million to $490.1 million this year. Year-to-date total company sales matched that 10% decline moving from $1,343.7 million to $1,207.9 million. Other notable 3rd quarter statistics compared to last year include a 15% fall in operating income from continuing operations, a 12% drop in net income from continuing operations and a 7% decline in earnings per share. For the full report visit
www.polarisindustries.com/en-US/OurCompany.