Polaris has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019, and it’s a mix of good and bad news—but mostly good for Indian.
First up—”motorcycle segment sales,” which includes parts and accessories sales, were $119 million for Polaris in Q4, a 37 per cent growth over 2018’s Q4. The company says this is due to strong sales of Indian motorcycles, as the Polaris Slingshot three-wheeler actually saw a sales decline. The somewhat confusing press release from Polaris seems to indicate Indian sales grew in the low-single-digits range, while the motorcycle division as a whole saw a low-single-digit decrease once Slingshot sales were factored in.
It also states “Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2019 was negative $2 million compared to $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The decrease in gross profit was primarily due to increased promotions and higher warranty costs.” In other words, increased sales also came with increased expenses, and Indian wasn’t as profitable as you’d think as a result. CEO Scott Wine pointed out these issues in a call with analysts, once the results were announced, but seemed positive for 2020, with the new Slingshot and Challenger models coming along.
