Article content

Valcourt, Que.-based Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., or BRP, reported net income Wednesday of $237.7 million in the second quarter, a 12-per-cent increase from the year-ago quarter, as an easing of supply-chain issues helped the maker of Ski-Doo snowmobiles and Sea-Doo water scooters post record revenue.

Article content

CFO Sébastien Martel told analysts on a conference call that the company also benefited from robust demand for its machines, highlighted by strong pre-orders for snowmobiles and keen interest in new products, including the electric two-wheeled motorcycle models announced last month.

Article content

“We delivered record second-quarter results while continuing to advance on our strategic initiatives,” said chief executive José Boisjoli in a press release. “Our team’s agility and resilience and the strength of our portfolio allowed us to continue to deliver robust performance in this unique operating environment.”

Here’s what you need to know about earnings for the second quarter of BRP’s 2023 financial year, ending July 31, 2022.

Article content

Backstory

BRP plans to revisit part of its history, sort of. While famous for its snowmobiles, the company also made award-winning two-wheeled motorcycles in the 1980s before getting out of that business. BRP announced its return to motorcycles on Aug. 7 after a 30-year hiatus. This time, however, they’re going green. “With the motorcycle industry shifting to electric, we saw an opportunity to reclaim our motorcycle heritage and to re-enter the market,” said Boisjoli in a press release.

The glow of nostalgia was quickly dimmed by a more modern threat. Days later, the company experienced a cyberattack, which cast a pall over the announcement. The company said it “took immediate measures to contain the situation.” In an Aug. 23 update, the company said that information on employees and suppliers had been leaked onto the dark web, but added it had no evidence that client information had been affected.

Article content

BRP said that it would provide credit monitoring services to all of its employees as a “precautionary measure.” The investigation is ongoing.

Financials

Revenue reached $2.4 billion in the second quarter, up 28 per cent compared to $1.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. It’s the most revenue the company has ever recorded in a single quarter in its history.

Diluted net earnings per share were $2.94, compared with $2.46 per share in the same quarter last year.

The company had a normalized EBITDA of $418 million in the second quarter, an improvement over the EBITDA of $415 million in the year ago quarter.

Article content

BRP shares were up almost nine per cent Wednesday morning from Tuesday’s close at $97.27 on the TSX.

Outlook

Martel said that the “improving supply chain environment” would lead to higher production in the second half of the year, and continue to drive revenues. BRP revised its guidance for revenue in the current fiscal year to an increase of between 26 per cent and 31 per cent from last year’s earnings of $7.6 billion, compared with previous guidance for an increase of between 24 per cent and 29 per cent.

“We expect to deliver record results in the second half of the year,” Martel said. “We are well positioned to deliver these strong results given improvements in the supply chain that will allow us to increase production.”

• Email: mcoulton@postmedia.com | Twitter: marisacoulton