Polaris reports significant sales increase, lawsuit with HSBC
Polaris Industries increased its first-quarter sales 22 percent thanks primarily to elevated PG&A, snowmobile and side-by-side sales.
The Minnesota manufacturer also reported it has filed a lawsuit against HSBC. The finance company earlier this year threatened to “significantly tighten” standards for retail credit, Polaris CEO Tom Tiller said in a press release. To ensure the credit standards did not tighten to affect consumer purchasing power, Tiller said Polaris agreed to forgo financial services revenue that was part of a 2005 agreement between the two companies. As a result, Polaris’ financial services revenue dropped 41 percent in its first quarter, which ended March 31. Polaris is now suing HSBC over the original 2005 retail credit agreement.
For its first-quarter sales, the company’s snowmobile revenue was up more than 200 percent to $9.4 million and its ATV revenue rose 19 percent thanks primarily to growing side-by-side sales.
For more on the first-quarter report, see an upcoming issue of Powersports Business.
