Canadian powersports giant Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), best known in the UK for Can-Am branding on ATVs, ORVs and road-going trikes, doesn’t make life easy for those attempting to explain the financial performance of its business activities. A tendency to swerve away from GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) into the convenient rabbit-hole of non-IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) measures might be acceptable in Canada’s refrigerated hinterland. But such moves would be deemed suspicious elsewhere! An odd-ball current financial year, starting on a 1 February 2024 and finishing on 31 January 2025, doesn’t help much either, particularly when content isn’t especially attractive.
Six-monthly BRP 2025 results through to 31 July 2024 were typical. Leaving the grid in GAAP formation, they admitted that revenue had slumped by 25.6% to £2.15bn. However, rather than sticking to a straightforward and widely applied operating profit indicator, (EBIT, earnings before interest and tax), BRP chose the deeply questionable yardstick of EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) instead. Legendary US equities investor Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, famously abused EBITDA as “bullshit profit’. Worse, BRP’s EBITDA to 31 July has been “normalised” by non-IFRS intervention from its bean counters, falling by 47.6% to £248.8m.
We were then given alternative versions of half-yearly net income at 31 July. On a GAAP basis, BRP recorded a net loss of £111,000, plunging from a net profit of £275.1m in the equivalent period of 2023. However, non-IFRS “normalisation” translated this into a £66.3m net profit, versus a £249.6m net profit in 2023.
Three-monthly Q2 numbers to 31 July received similar intermittent treatment. Revenue was 33.7% down to £1.027bn. “Normalised” non-IFRS EBITDA sank by 58% to £110.7m. GAAP-calculated net income featured a mere £4m profit, compared to £189m in Q2 2023. Non-IFRS “normalisation” modified that to a net profit of £25.9m, against £142.5m.
Gloom and dodgy bean counting aside, BRP is nevertheless enhancing product lines. These include new Can-Am Outlander 850 and 1000R ATVs, the Can-Am Maverick R Max ORV range and a new Can-Am Canyon three-wheeler. It has also formally launched a return to powered two-wheelers, via Can-Am Pulse and Can-Am Origin electric motorcycle introduction.
Given an 18% slump in North American powersport retail sales, BRP chief executive José Boisjoli is forthright about some of the woes afflicting his business. These, he admits, will see full-year 2025 revenue decline from the previous year’s £5.786bn to somewhere between £4.354bn and £4.466bn.
“Our results were in line with expectations and reflect an ongoing focus on reducing network inventory to maintain our dealer value proposition,” Boisjoli said. “We have made great strides on that front. But the retail environment is more challenging, with the economic context pressuring consumer demand. As such, our priority is to continue proactively managing production and inventory levels, which leads us to revise year-end guidance.”
Canadian dollar to Sterling translation at forex rates applicable on 2 October