10 • December 2024 • Powersports Business

Polaris Inc . has released its third-quarter 2024 results . The company reported worldwide sales of $ 1,722 million , down 23 percent from the third quarter of 2023 . North American sales of $ 1,473 million represented 85 percent of total company sales and decreased 26 percent from $ 1,986 million in 2023 .

“ A healthy dealer network is one of the critical components to our long-term success , which is why we have anchored our current production and shipment plans to our goal of lowering dealer inventory by 15 to 20 percent by the end of the year , and I am encouraged by the progress being made ,” says Mike Speetzen , CEO of Polaris Inc . Speetzen notes that he expects a challenging retail environment throughout the rest of 2024 and into next year .

Q3 net income for Polaris was $ 28 million , a decrease of 82 percent compared to the third quarter of 2023 .

In July , Polaris announced it was lowering production and shipments to protect its dealer network . As a result , Q3 sales dropped 23 percent . This included additional shipment cuts during the quarter in response to a lower-than-anticipated retail environment .

Third-quarter retail sales were down 7 percent , slightly below the company ’ s expectations , which it says is driven by persistent inflation , elevated interest rates and financially stressed consumers .

2024 OUTLOOK Polaris revised its 2024 sales outlook to be down approximately 20 percent relative to 2023 versus its previous outlook of down 17 to 20 percent . The company now expects adjusted diluted EPS attributed to Polaris Inc . common shareholders to be down approximately 65 percent versus the prior outlook of down 56 to 62 percent .

Octane Lending and RideNow , a RumbleOn company and the largest powersports retailer in North America , have partnered to launch branded finance in RideNow ’ s 56 retail stores under the RideNow Finance brand .

According to Octane , this partnership will help drive higher quality leads by giving Ride- Now Powersports dealerships the ability to run their own branded financing promotions , integrate branded financing messaging into their marketing initiatives and reach customers throughout the lifecycle of their loan .

“ We believe that private label branded and captive financing are the future of retail financing in powersports , RV and beyond , and we ’ re excited to work with a leader in powersports – and a great partner – to bring this exciting new product to market ,” says Steven Fernald , president and chief financial officer of Octane . “ By giving dealerships innovative , digital tools and helping them harness the power of branded financing , we can help them drive more qualified applicants and ultimately sell more units .”

RideNow Finance loans will originate from Octane ’ s in-house lender , Roadrunner Financial , and will be serviced by Octane ’ s loan servicer .