Polaris Industries 4th Quarter 2010 Earnings Up 24% As Sales Rise In All Segments

A few minutes ago Polaris Industries Inc.’s (PII) announced its fourth-quarter 2010 earnings.

They rose 24% as sales improved in all product lines and the company topped its own guidance. Sales of off-road vehicles, Polaris’ biggest segment, rose 40%. The on-road division, made up of Victory motorcycles, saw sales rise 8%, while snowmobiles had a 28% rise. Gross margin improved to 27.7% from 27.3%.

Chief Executive Scott Wine said Polaris–a maker of snowmobiles, off- and on-road vehicles and motorcycles–said the company has continued to gain market share and has made investments in China, Brazil and India, among other markets.

For 2011, the company projected earnings of $4.65 to $4.85 on revenue growth of 8% to 11%, in line with Street estimates for $4.75 and growth of 8% to $2.11 billion, respectively. Shares closed at $77.71 and were inactive premarket. Shares are up 11% in the past three months.

Polaris Industries posted a profit of $54.5 million, or $1.55 a share, up from $43.9 million, or $1.31 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 31% to $618.4 million. The company guided in October for earnings of $1.45 to $1.48 on revenue growth of 22% to 24%.

12 Responses to “Polaris Industries 4th Quarter 2010 Earnings Up 24% As Sales Rise In All Segments”


  1. 1 Gas Man Jan 27th, 2011 at 8:22 am

    I truely Love the idea of another American motorcycle manufacture doing well. However, everytime I ride a Victory, I’m disappointed. Perhaps I just need to adjust my mind set. The bike cheaper than the big boy HD, so I shouldn’t expect it to be at that level. Either, I will always wish them great success. This country needs it!

  2. 2 MC Jan 27th, 2011 at 10:12 am

    Gas Man,

    Think you should do a Google search. You will find that Polaris is cutting 1000 + jobs and moving them south of the border for cheap labor. From everything I’ve seen, Mexico is not going to improve their product, just save more money for the company. Not exactly what this country needs.

  3. 3 Dave Blevins Jan 27th, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    Viva Mexico!

  4. 4 Steve Hog Radio Producer Jan 27th, 2011 at 8:17 pm

    Glad to see they are selling more bikes.

    All manufacturers are looking at cost cutting methods. In a Depression (which we are now in) you do what you have to do to survive. I haven’t checked on MC’s comment about being built in Mexico if that’s true maybe we can see a decline in midnight boarder crossings!

    Don’t get me wrong I hate to see good paying jobs exported out of the country – we need skilled labor jobs here in the states. Right now and the foreseeable future every company is low balling what they are paying their new hires. I own my own biz and it flat lined 2 years ago so I understand the math, all too well.

    Anyhow glad to see people are still buying new bikes, no matter what brand they are, in the end everyone benefits.

  5. 5 Roscoe Jan 27th, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    I think if you do a little bit more research MC, you will see that Polaris is moving some of their offroad division to Mexico, but the Victory line is still being manufactured in the USA. If you have some proof of them cutting 1,000 jobs, please post a link. I know I’m not the only one that wants to read it.

  6. 6 MC Jan 28th, 2011 at 11:09 am
  7. 7 Roscoe Jan 28th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    If i remember correctly, those 500 people were offered other jobs making Victory parts. The offroad division has moved some of its postions down to Mexico for many reasons, one of them being that the USA isn’t the only consumer, the ORVs are selling in alot of other countries that can’t afford to pay the high US prices.
    I believe that Victory is doing all they can to keep production in the US. so far, so good.
    I wish them well, the competition is good for everyone.

  8. 8 BamaBulldog Jan 28th, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    I would bet MC rides a HD and is threatened by another company moving in on the “American Made” part of the industry

  9. 9 martin Twofeather Jan 28th, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    Thanks Roscoe your correct and gasman take a ride on the Jackpot you might enjoy it.

  10. 10 Chief Waldo Jan 31st, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    As much as I think the “High Ball” is a mistake, and the Victory/Polaris should be taking a good look at Triumph rather than Harley, it’s very good to see that they’re doing well.

  11. 11 Roscoe Jan 31st, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    I agree Waldo.
    I would like to see them do their own thing, make a low cost single, maybe a vertical twin would be cool.
    Or they could do what Honda used to do, and build a high quality, inexpensive, utilitarian motorcycle.
    Forget what’s in style this month and make a motorcycle for the masses.

  12. 12 Olfart Jan 31st, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    I, along with 80 other Victory riders, rode my bike 600 miles from Melbourne to Sydney to attend the opening of the trick new Sydney Victory dealership. This was last weekend, the 29th January 2011. The Sydney dealership is the largest Victory only dealership in the world. The shop in Melbourne was up till then, the largest dealership in the world. If you ever get the chance, Google both shops. They are beyond anything we have in Australia, including the award winning Harley dealership in Tasmania. Not only are these two shops owned by Victory, they are the fastest growing, highest selling shops in the world. The Australian Polaris dealer has 25% of the Australian market and the American management thinks the sun shines out of our collective arses. My point is this, in Australia, the Victory brand is on fire. There is an interesting assortment of trade-ins out the front. Brands like BMW, Aprilla, Triumph, Japanese cruisers and of course Harley Davidson, demonstrates that the machines are appealing to riders from all marques. The enthusiasm that the new riders embrace the brand with only ensures that more and more riders will move over to the Victory brand. Harley will continue to dominate sales but Victory is fast establishing itself as the bike of choice for those that don’t have Harley tattoo’s.

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Cyril Huze