Steady as she goes: New BRP CEO says Ski-Doo maker will stay the course
BNN Bloomberg
Denis Le Vot, the new head of BRP Inc., says he has no plans to veer the Ski-Doo maker off its profitable track after a big jump in earnings last year.
On the job for less than two months, Le Vot said Thursday that it’s steady as she goes at the company, given its seven per cent year-over-year revenue growth to $8.44 billion in the 12 months ended Jan. 31. Its net income for the year leaped 427 per cent to $340.4 million.
“I don’t see the point to make changes,” he told analysts on his first conference call following the departure of 22-year chief executive Jose Boisjoli. Until last month, Boisjoli was the only CEO the Sea-Doo maker had known.
Le Vot also pointed to the manufacturer’s forecast of revenue increases between roughly five and 8.5 per cent this year on the back of new snowmobile and off-road vehicles -- side-by-sides in particular, with BRP’s latest Defender model a runaway success.
“We can hardly produce (enough) as the demand is going,” Le Vot said.
“I don’t think that it’s the moment for very quick and short-term changes,” he added, expressing faith in the company’s strategic plan through 2028.
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Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday, while oil prices eased.
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