With strong global demand in all its business segments, Brunswick Corp. posted its second consecutive record quarter. For Q2 of 2021, the company saw net sales of $1.55 billion, a $567 million jump — 57 percent — compared with the same quarter last year.
Each of the Mettawa, Ill.-based builder’s segments was the recipient of double-digit growth, with the top performer again going to its propulsion division, filing $649.5 million in sales — a 64 percent increase compared with the year prior.
The largest outboard currently on the market— the V-12 600-hp Mercury Verado — began shipping to customers late last month. Mercury said it is currently accelerating “additional capacity investments” at its primary manufacturing center in Fond du Lac, Wis., to meet demand for this and its other engines.
Brunswick’s boat brands were up 80 percent when compared to last year, with $449.1 million in sales (from $249.9 million). And parts and accessories reported $549 million in sales, a 42 percent gain.
CEO David Foulkes addressed the record results despite continued supply chain issues and the severely limited availability of inventory of product.
“We delivered record results in the second quarter as a result of the continuing constructive demand environment, and our very strong operational performance and success in mitigating supply chain challenges and labor market tightness,” said Foulkes. “Robust retail demand for our products in the first-half of the year has driven field inventory levels to the lowest level in decades, and we are progressing our efforts to efficiently increase capacity across most of our facilities to satisfy orders from our global customer base.”
In addition to the newly reopened Boston Whaler facility and its announcements earlier in the year that it would increase production capacity at U.S. and international locations, the Boat Group management team said it “has developed a capital efficient investment plan to deliver an additional tranche of capacity by 2023 above previously announced expansion plans should this level of production be required to meet retail demand and refill the pipeline.”
“2021 is shaping up to be another year of robust earnings and shareholder returns” said Foulkes. “Although we continue navigating certain headwinds, including elevated supply chain, labor, and transportation challenges, we are excited about our ability to further harness the positive momentum we have generated to propel our growth and industry leadership.”
