It seems like every other week, I'm delivering more news about the financial woes of powersport manufacturers, and that's because I am. If it's not Polaris making financial cuts, it's BRP selling off marine entities. Unfortunately, Yamaha's Q2 financial results indicate that the Japanese OEM is as vulnerable as any other manufacturer to the concerning trend in powersports.
The long and short of it is that sales are down across all key powersport categories within the company, and costs are continuing to rise. The Q2 report has forced Yamaha to lower its full-year outlook, but it remains hopeful and focused on long-term growth and profitability.
“We saw declines in unit sales for motorcycles, PWCs, and golf cars, alongside rising costs,” says President and CEO Motofumi Shitara. “That said, we also gained market share in several core areas, which is promising for our longer-term goals.”
After the first half of the year, Yamaha posted consolidated revenue of approximately $8.63 billion, which is down 5.2% compared to the previous year. Operating income dropped by 45.4% and net income was also down by 52.9%. But the drop in revenue isn't spread equally across all powersport segments.
Yamaha motorcycles, scooters, and e-bikes, which make up its Land Mobility segment, generated $5.46 billion in revenue—down 4.2% compared to last year. But the Land Mobility segment was actually the best-performing out of all of Yamaha's powersport categories. Its Outdoor Land Vehicle category, which consists of ATVs, ROVs, and Golf Carts, was down by 18% year-over-year, resulting in a total revenue of $525 million.
The company's marine sales also dipped, but this was largely due to lower PWC sales rather than outboard motor sales, which remained relatively steady. The Marine Products segment saw a 5.9% dip in revenue year-over-year, producing $1.89 billion this year. “PWC demand in the U.S. came in lower than expected,” Yamaha noted. Adding that higher procurement costs and ongoing investments in product development also put pressure on marine margins.
Here's hoping that Yamaha can weather the storm and/or adapt their products to consumer demand, so it doesn't find itself in a similar situation to the one last year, when it had to shutdown production of its snowmobiles.
