RBC: August boat sales appear positive

DENVER, Co. – August retail sales of powerboats by Brunswick Corporation grew 3.7 percent over August 2010, according to a report by RBC Capital Markets. The positive numbers can be attributed to sales of aluminum boats, which grew by 7 percent, despite a 12-percent decline in sales of sterndrive/inboard boats.

Sales of aluminum boats reached 3,392 in August compared to 3,051 in the same month of 2010. Sales of fiberglass outboard boats also grew in August, from 2,108 in 2010 to 2,127 in 2011, up 0.9 percent.

Fiberglass sterndrive and inboard boats fell 4.7 percent in August, with the biggest losses in fiberglass cruisers, which fell 33 percent, and semi-custom and custom fiberglass yachts, which fell 52.6 percent. Though these two had the highest losses, together they make up less than 1 percent of the total sales of fiberglass sterndrive/inboard boats.

“We caution against reading too much into any monthly data points, but August data supports our view that a double-dip in the boating cycle is unlikely. We look to provide deeper industry perspective upon completing our fall dealer survey, which is in progress. We reiterate our Outperform rating on Brunswick,” said RBC Capital Markets Analyst Edward Aaron in the report.

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