Quintrex sales stay soft as supply issues continue to bite
Canadian powersports giant BRP gives a hint at how the Australian new-boat market is performingSales at iconic trailer boat brand Quintrex have fallen “ in-line with the industry in Australia” in the last quarter as softening sales continue to haunt the marine businesses of its parent company, BRP.
The global Canadian powersports giant overnight released its financial results for the quarter ending on April 30, with revenue for its marine division slipping around 3.0 per cent to $CA119.3 million ($A134.9 million) compared with the same quarter last year.
The lower performance in the US was mainly due to the late arrival of spring in North America, which slowed sales of BRP’s Alumacraft alloy boat (down 30 per cent) and Manitou alloy pontoon boat (down around 50 per cent) in the key Great Lakes market.
In contrast, BRP reported sales at Quintrex, as the group of boat brands is known internally, as down in the “mid-teen” percent range, which it said was in line with how the Australian new-boat market was performing overall.
BRP does not split its Australian business from its financial results, although it did say the Asia Pacific region earned $CA158.4 million in the three-month reporting period, up from the $CA149.8 million earned in the same quarter in 2022.
The big earner for BRP, though, remains the jet ski market, with it helping to grow BRP’s “seasonal product” earnings by just shy of 70 per cent to $CA691.9 million. BRP’s earnings from jet skis alone went up by around 30 per cent as it clawed more market share from its competitors.
BRP counts jet skis as part of its seasonal product portfolio rather than bundled in with its marine products.
“The increase was primarily attributable to a higher volume of PWC [personal watercraft] sold, driven by strong market demand and due to supply chain issues experienced in the prior year which impacted product availability, as well as increased deliveries of the Sea-Doo pontoon,” BRP said.
Sea-Doo’s Switch pontoon boat was teased in Australia at last week’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show ahead of the launch of the 2024 model here later this year. The new model, a portmanteau of a jet ski and pontoon boat, has taken the North American market by storm – it’s already the second-best-selling boat in the pontoon market.
According to BRP, the problems it faced last year in sourcing the parts to build enough jet skis to meet market demand are now behind it.
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