Textron reported third quarter revenues of $3.5 billion, up 7.2% from the third quarter 2016, while profit decreased $15 million for the quarter to $295 million. “Growth in the third quarter was the result of strong commercial demand at Bell, increased deliveries at Textron Systems and higher revenues at Industrial due to the acquisition of Arctic Cat,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott C. Donnelly.
Textron has folded Arctic Cat into their Specialized Vehicles division which also includes E-Z-GO, Cushman and other brands. They recently merged their Stampede, Bad Boy Off Road and Arctic Cat lines under the Textron Off Road brand. This includes a pared down lineup of previous Arctic Cat models and the introduction of Bad Boy electric vehicles under the Prowler model name. The following are highlights from the earnings call that relate to STOV vehicles.
- Management reports putting a lot of resources into the integration of Arctic Cat and the process is proceeding on plan
- The plan involved moving dirt manufacturing to Thief River and centralizing engine manufacturing in St. Cloud, as well as, clearing dealer inventory and educating them about the new lineup of vehicles under the Textron Off Road brand
- The launch of the lithium ion battery powered golf products has gone “extremely well”
- Side-by-side sales year over year did well, in part from clearing out inventory
- Management reports good uptake by dealers of non-Arctic Cat products such as the Stampede and the recently announced Prowler EVs
Learn more: Seekingalpha.com (Earnings call transcript)