This is not a typical pontoon – the Switch is unlike anything that has ever hit the water, and it is built specifically to change the realities of what life on the water can be. Switch is uniquely positioned to attract new entrants and a younger generation,' mentioned José Boisjoli, BRP's President and CEO. Our team has done it once again with the Sea-Doo Switch, which will revolutionize the pontoon market. Hard core,” he said.'Over the years, we have proven that BRP is able to disrupt the industry by creating new segments.

Still, demand for aluminum boats tends to hold up better than for more expensive fibreglass boats, Mr. “We fear that the ‘late cycle’ concerns that have weighed on many marine stocks thus far in 2019 are also beginning to manifest themselves on the demand side, a dynamic which we believe is likely to continue.” Altobello said in a recent research note, adding consumers might be showing increasing caution as a potential recession draws nearer.

Registrations of new powerboats in the United States fell 14 per cent from the year before in June and are down 6 per cent year to date, according to analyst Joseph Altobello of Raymond James. Boisjoli said.īut there are already signs the boat market is sputtering. Aluminum fishing boats and aluminum pontoon boats make up half of that total, Mr. Boats are big business, with sales of recreational boats, engines and accessories topping US$20-billion a year in the United States alone, according to information provided by BRP. Whether consumer demand will be strong enough by then to justify BRP’s investment remains to be seen. The new technology should be available in three years, he said. The three purchases have delivered that and no further acquisitions are coming in the short term, Mr. To achieve the goal, BRP had to buy enough boat companies for a critical mass of product and sales capability. Boisjoli said the company has a much broader strategic rationale for the move: It wants to make a mark in the sector with new technology.īRP is currently developing a new family of boats with a better integrated engine so that consumers can buy a package instead of buying the boat and engine separately, the CEO said. Telwater’s co-founder and managing director, Paul Phelan, is keeping a 20-per-cent ownership and will stay on with the company.Ĭontrolling the three aluminum boat makers and having access to their more than 600 dealers is a way for BRP to sell more Evinrude engines, a key reason it decided to enter the industry. That doesn’t include the contribution from Telwater, which will drive the number higher and bring geographical diversity. 31, 2019, or roughly 9 per cent of the company’s total annual revenue of $5.2-billion. Marine is a small segment for BRP at the moment, generating $492-million in sales for the year ended Jan. Peter, Minn.-based Alumacraft Boat, known for its aluminum fishing boats, for $80.9-million and Lansing, Mich.-based Triton Industries Inc., maker of Manitou pontoon watercraft, for $97.4-million. The deal, its third acquisition in the marine sector since June, 2018, comes after the company bought St. Ltd., Australia’s biggest maker of aluminum boats, for an undisclosed price. Rather, it is sticking to aluminum recreational boats, the kind used by anglers and outdoorspeople who would typically also use its all-terrain vehicles.īRP last week closed its purchase of Telwater Pty. But this time, it isn’t selling jet-driven boats used for pursuits such as waterskiing. Roughly seven years after it exited the sport-boat business – a move that came after the Great Recession – BRP is getting its feet wet again. Now, as BRP stock comes off its highs – it is down 39 per cent from its peak last September – he’s trying to convince shareholders that the party isn’t over and that it can make money with recreational boating. Boisjoli, a bespectacled engineer who had his first Can-Am brand BRP dirt bike at the age of 12, led the powersports manufacturer to a spectacular 253-per-cent share-price increase from the start of 2016 to last September as he introduced a steady stream of new products that took market share from competitors. … But our move is more a mid-term to long-term strategy.” “I think there is a lot of uncertainty in the economy that is creating some slowdown.

“Is it the perfect timing? No,” BRP chief executive Jose Boisjoli said in an interview.

Bombardier sea doo