Polaris posts strong results

Polaris Industries Inc. has reported stronger than expected third-quarter results in 2007, with sales up 11 per cent.

Sales for the Medina, MN-based company reached a record high of US$544 million in the third quarter, up almost $54 million compared to 2006. ATV sales, thanks largely to the side by side Ranger, grew by 15% to more than $353 million.

“We are pleased to report strong third quarter results, which we believe clearly reflects our commitment to the operating plan we laid out at the beginning of the year,” says Polaris CEO Tom Tiller. “Dealer ATV inventories are much lower than a year ago, the benefit of our productivity and efficiency improvement programs are being realized and many new products introduced this year are selling nicely.

“Demand continues to outpace supply for our new Ranger RZR model, and the overall side by side market continues to expand.”

Parts, garments and accessories (PG&A) was the other big gainer for Polaris, with sales increasing 13% compared to the 2006 third quarter.

Accessories for the Ranger RZR and the timing of delivery of pre-season snowmobile-related PG&A were the primary reasons for the increase, the company says.

Snowmobile sales were up 5% to $91.7 million in the third quarter, while Victory Motorcycle sales suffered a 17% reduction in sales, from $25.8 million in 2006 to $21.4 million in 2007.