MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced lower full-year 2015
sales and earnings guidance. The Company now expects full-year 2015
sales to grow approximately four to five percent compared to 2014, due
to a weaker than expected North American Off-Road Vehicles (“ORV”) and
Snowmobile retail environment. This revision is a reduction from
previously issued guidance of up 10 to 11 percent. Full-year 2015
earnings per share are now expected to be up approximately one to two
percent compared to full year 2014, down from previous guidance of up 11
to 12 percent. Consistent with our previous guidance, the updated
earnings per share guidance includes the expectation that the U.S.
Congress will extend the 2015 research and development tax credit in
December.
Since the Company updated its full year guidance in October, North
American ORV industry sales have been softer than anticipated, which has
negatively impacted Polaris’ North American ORV retail, as well as the
corresponding parts, garments, and accessories sales. Additionally, due
to unusually warm weather patterns in the U.S. Snowbelt, the overall
North American snowmobile industry is down mid-teens percent
season-to-date through November, pressuring Polaris’ snowmobile retail
sales in the 2015 fourth quarter despite strong market share gains. In
light of these challenges, and Polaris’ commitment to end 2015 with
North American dealer inventory levels up mid-single digits percent, the
Company is reducing fourth-quarter ORV shipments significantly,
primarily the Company’s higher margin side-by-side vehicles.
Consequently, North American ORV dealer inventory is expected to be
below 2014 levels at year-end, while snowmobile dealer inventory is
expected to be higher than last year as those vehicles were shipped
prior to the retail selling season. The ORV shipment and dealer
inventory reduction is reflected in the revised guidance.
“In our third quarter earnings call, I talked about slower near-term
growth for the powersports industry and what it signified for our
performance. We expected the fourth quarter to present a challenging
retail environment for ORVs and Snowmobiles, but consumer traffic and
retail sales have slowed beyond previous expectations. We are tackling
this problem head-on, in part by reducing our planned shipments to
improve dealer inventory levels as we head into 2016. These factors
drove the decision to lower our full-year 2015 guidance. Taking this
action now, while disappointing, is appropriate given the
circumstances,” commented Scott Wine, Polaris’ Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. “We anticipate 2016 results will improve modestly
over 2015, with leaner dealer inventory, and a judicious balance between
operating expense management and strategic investments, offsetting
continued macroeconomic headwinds and ongoing currency and competitive
pressures. Longer-term, our 2020 strategic objectives of greater than
$8.0 billion in sales and exceeding a ten percent net income margin
remain unchanged and we believe achievable. Driven by innovative
products and acceleration of our lean initiatives, we expect to continue
to expand our industry-leading position in powersports along with
on-going diversification into adjacent businesses and markets. We will
provide further guidance regarding our 2016 outlook during our fourth
quarter earnings call in January.”
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Conference Call and Webcast Presentation
Polaris will release its fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial
results on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, and will hold a conference call
and webcast at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on the same day to discuss the
2015 results and expectations for 2016. The call will be hosted by Scott
Wine, Chairman and CEO; Bennett Morgan, President and COO; Ken Pucel,
Executive Vice President – Operations, Engineering and Lean; and Mike
Speetzen, Executive Vice President – Finance and CFO. A slide
presentation and link to the webcast will be posted on the Polaris
Investor Relations website at http://ir.polaris.com.
To listen to the conference call by phone, dial 877-706-7543 in the U.S.
and Canada, or 973-200-3967 internationally. The Conference ID is #
95414234.
A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two
hours after the call for a one-week period by accessing the same link on
our website, or by dialing 855-859-2056 in the U.S. and Canada, or
404-537-3406 internationally.
About Polaris
Polaris is a recognized leader in the
powersports industry with annual 2014 sales of $4.5 billion. Polaris
designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality
off-road consumer and military vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles
(ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER® and RZR®
side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road
electric/hybrid powered vehicles.
Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and
off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the cruiser and
touring motorcycle market with the Victory® and Indian
Motorcycle® and Slingshot® brands.
Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global Work and
Transportation vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM),
Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed
vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of
Polaris Engineered Parts, Accessories and Apparel, Klim branded apparel
and ORV accessories under the Kolpin®, Cycle Country®
and Pro Armor® brands.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol “PII”, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock
price index.
Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and
vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or
anytime at www.polaris.com.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set
forth in this news release, including management’s expectations
regarding 2015 and future sales, shipments, net income, and net income
per share, the research and development tax credit and operational
initiatives are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those forward-looking statements. Potential risks and
uncertainties include such factors as the Company’s ability to
successfully implement its manufacturing operations expansion
initiatives, product offerings, promotional activities and pricing
strategies by competitors; economic conditions that impact consumer
spending; acquisition integration costs; warranty expenses; impact of
changes in Polaris stock price on incentive compensation plan costs;
foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; environmental and product
safety regulatory activity; effects of weather; commodity costs;
uninsured product liability claims; uncertainty in the retail and
wholesale credit markets; performance of affiliate partners; changes in
tax policy and overall economic conditions, including inflation,
consumer confidence and spending and relationships with dealers and
suppliers. Investors are also directed to consider other risks
and uncertainties discussed in documents filed by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not
undertake any duty to any person to provide updates to its
forward-looking statements.
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Source: Polaris Industries Inc.