Arctic Cat’s CEO Christopher Metz talks about Arctic Cat’s snowmobile business during quarterly earnings report. Here are some highlights....
1) "Historically, Arctic Cat's first quarter has not generated significant snowmobile sales. However, snowmobile sales in 2016 quarter rose primarily due to the timing of shipments to our snowmobile OEM partner. We continue to be pleased with this partnership."
2) "Our parts, garments and accessories business or PG&A sales were nearly flat in the quarter. You'll recall that we completed our acquisition in March of Motorfist, which designs, develops and distributes technical snowmobile riding garments and accessories. Because the Motorfist business is focused on snow-related sales, we did not plan for any contributions from it in the first quarter. However, this acquisition is a terrific example of our strategy to grow through small bolt-on acquisitions. Motorfist gives us a broader PG&A product offering for our North America and international markets. It also complements Arctic Cat's existing garment and riding gear portfolio. We see further growth ahead with our expanded distribution capabilities. The Motorfist integration is proceeding smoothly and we expect sales of Motorfist branded products to contribute to our PG&A business in fiscal 2016.
3) "Snowmobile sales totaled $58.2 million, an increase of 4% compared to $56.2 million in the prior year quarter. Snowmobile sales rose primarily due to the timing of shipments, partially offset by unfavorable impact of foreign currency and mix."
4) "A key growth initiative is creating a brand marketing powerhouse. Arctic Cat's brand promise is to create the ultimate off-road riding experience. Our objective is to deliver passionate and exciting experiences at all customer touch points to drive double-digit retail sales growth each and every year. To achieve this, we'll enhance our field marketing, advertising and team training. We hired Greg Williamson as Arctic Cat's first Chief Marketing Officer during the first quarter. Greg has a proven track record of driving brand awareness and consumer engagement. You can expect to hear more about Arctic Cat's expanded marketing efforts as this effort ramps up."
Source: Seeking Alpha transcripts of earnings report
