International Dealer News IDN 154 April/May 2020 | Page 10

THE BRADLEY REPORT
SHOW Indian Motorcycle/
ZONE Polaris Industries
Based on information as at 3/4/20
2021
Motor Bike Expo
Verona, IT • January 21-24
MC Massan
Gothenburg, SE • January 29-31
Motorradwelt Bodensee
Friedrichshafen, DE • January
29-31
Motorrad Messe *
Leipzig, DE • January 29-31
MP21
Helsinki, FI • February 5-7
Motorrad Linz *
Linz, AUT • February 5-7
MCN London Motorcycle
Show
London, UK • February 12-24
Salon Du 2 Roues
Lyon, FR • February 18-21
MOTORbeurs
Utrecht, NL • February 18-21
Swiss Moto
Zurich, CH • February 18-21
Hamburger Motorrad Tage
Hamburg, DE • February 26-28
Roma Moto Days *
Rome, Italy • March 4-7
Motorraeder Dortmund *
Germany • March 4-7
Having already suspended production
in the USA, including the Indian
Motorcycle factory at Spirit Lake, Iowa,
Monterrey, Mexico, and Opole, Poland,
(where European and other
international market UTV/ATV and
Indian Scout and FTR 1200 assembly
takes place), April 1st saw Minnesota
based Polaris Industries, the parent
company for Indian Motorcycle, act to
secure its financial position by
implementing a raft of what can only
be described as 'Stage II' measures in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"These actions will help the company
navigate the current environment by
reducing expenses and improving its
cash position and financial flexibility."
Scott Wine, Polaris Chairman and CEO,
said: "This is an unprecedented crisis
with a sudden and stark impact on our
business, but in difficult times Polaris
has always responded with agility and
proved our resilience. While the
immediate future is uncertain, what is
crystal clear is that Polaris must act
judiciously but decisively to win both
during this situation and after it is
resolved. The measures we are taking
today are a necessary response to a
dynamic environment that compels us
to bolster our liquidity and rapidly
adapt
to
extraordinary
circumstances."
Those measures include what Polaris
describes as "Temporary Measures on
Employee Compensation" that will
see employees furloughed for at least
two weeks "in the second quarter",
delaying of merit increases through
the end of the year and implementing
a hiring freeze.
Employees, including Polaris'
Executive Leadership Team, who are
not furloughed, will have their pay
reduced by approximately 20 percent
beginning April 13 through to the end
of the second quarter (June 30). In
Assembled for Europe and other 'international' markets in the factory at
Opole, Poland, the FTR 1200 and Indian Scout programmes have caught the
Millennial zeitgeist and seen Indian Motorcycle drop
a convincing anchor in the European landscape.
addition, Polaris Chairman and CEO,
Scott Wine, will forgo his salary for the
remainder of 2020.
In an update on plant operations,
Polaris said that production would
restart during the week commencing
March 30th on select manufacturing
lines for products with adequate
demand and supply chain coverage.
"Polaris continues to ship finished
vehicles to dealers, and to produce
products that are consistent with
governing federal, state and local
directives."
In addition to these steps, Polaris is
taking further action to increase financial flexibility and liquidity,
"including reviewing all operating
expenses, postponing non-essential
capital expenditures and suspending
share repurchases. The company has
also elected to draw down an
incremental $150m under its current
revolving credit facility. As of March
31, Polaris has more than $420m in
cash-on-hand to help weather the
current COVID-19 crisis.
"The company will continue to
evaluate its operations and make
adjustments based on the safety of its
employees, demand signals, the health
of its supply chain and distribution
network, and government mandates
and local orders".
The excellent 2019 results that Polaris
posted at the end of January now feel
like they happened in a parallel
universe. Those results had seen
Polaris post Motorcycle segment sales
revenues, including PG&A, up by
+37% ($119m) - "led by strong sales
of Indian motorcycles" and increased
corporate sales of +12% for the full
year 2019 at $6,783m. For 2020
Polaris had said that they "expected
sales to further grow in the range of
2% to 4% over 2019" - it was a nice
thought while it lasted!
were 230.1bn yen, up by 3.9bn
yen from the year-ago period.
Total motorcycle unit sales were
404,000 in the nine months, up by 4,000 units. Motorcycle unit
sales were 100,000 units in
developed markets (worth
78.8bn yen).
Scott Wine, Polaris Chairman and
CEO, said: "This is an unprecedented
crisis with a sudden and stark impact
on our business."
Moto Salon *
Prague, CZ • March 4-7
Motorraeder & Roller *
Magdeburg, DE • March 5-6
Motorama Madrid
Madrid, Spain • March 12-14
Inabike
Jakarta, ID • March 24-26
Tokyo Motorcycle Show *
Japan • March 26-28
10
Kawasaki
The company continues to enjoy
moderate growth in the
motorcycle market, mainly in
Europe, with decreased
revenues in emerging markets.
Its utility vehicle and personal
watercraft products are seeing
stable growth, mainly in the
United States.
Cumulative net sales from
Kawasaki's Motorcycle and
Engine division for the nine
months to December 31, 2019
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - APRIL/MAY 2020
What happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas - but not for very long if
you are testing the supercharged
Z H2 - "King of the Nakeds"?