MACON, Ga.- Blue Bird Corporation (“Blue Bird”) (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, announced today its fiscal 2025 second quarter results.

“I am incredibly proud of our team in delivering another outstanding result, achieving a new all-time quarterly record revenue and profit,” said John Wyskiel, President & CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The Blue Bird team continued to exceed expectations, improving operations, driving new orders, and expanding our leadership in alternative-powered buses. Market demand remains very strong with approximately 4,900 units in our order backlog at the end of the second quarter. Unit sales were slightly above the same period as last year, and revenue was up by $12.9M, driven by product mix and pricing. We delivered an exceptional 14% Adj. EBITDA margin for Q2 2025. With 88% of our second quarter unit sales mix comprised of internal combustion engine (ICE) buses, this result demonstrates the very strong earnings power of our core business.

“In our push to expand our leadership in alternative-powered school buses, we delivered a record 265 electric-powered buses this quarter. As of the end of the quarter, we have more than 1,100 EV buses either sold or in our firm order backlog, which supports our EV sales target for 2025.

“Based on our strong Q2 performance, we’ve maintained our full-year financial guidance for Adjusted EBITDA at $200 million, with a 14% margin. This will be an all-time full-year record for Blue Bird, and we look forward to sustained profitable growth in the coming years.”

FY2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook Reaffirmed

“We are very pleased with the second quarter results, with our highest ever quarterly revenue and Adj. EBITDA” said Razvan Radulescu, CFO of Blue Bird Corporation. “Our business is in a very strong position and we continue to deliver ahead of the plan we have been messaging. We are reaffirming our full-year 2025 guidance for Net Revenue to $1.4-1.5 Billion, Adj. EBITDA to $190-210 million and Adj. Free Cash Flow to $60-80 million. Additionally, we are confirming our long-term profit outlook towards an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15%+ on ~$2 billion in revenue.”

Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Results

Net Sales
Net sales were $358.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of $12.9 million, or 3.7%, compared to $345.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024. The increase in net sales is primarily due to a small increase in Bus unit bookings as well as Bus customer and product mix changes that were partially offset by a small decrease in Parts sales.

Bus sales increased $14.8 million, or 4.6%, reflecting a 1.8% increase in unit bookings and a 2.8% increase in average sales price per unit. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, 2,295 units booked compared to 2,254 units booked for the same period in fiscal 2024. The small increase in unit price for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to the same period in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to customer and product mix changes.

Parts sales decreased $1.8 million, or 6.5%, for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2024. This decrease is primarily attributed to slight variations due to product and channel mix.

Gross Profit
Second quarter gross profit of $70.9 million represented an increase of $7.2 million from the second quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by the $12.9 million increase in net sales, discussed above, and partially offset by a corresponding increase of $5.7 million in cost of goods sold.

Net Income
Net income was $26.0 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the same as from the second quarter of last year. Among other smaller fluctuations, the $7.2 million increase in gross profit, discussed above, was offset by an increase of $9.6 million in selling, general and administrative expenses, primarily due to an increase in a) share-based compensation expense recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 relating to the retirement of our former President and Chief Executive Officer and b) labor costs.

Adjusted Net Income
Adjusted net income of $31.5 million represented an increase of $2.3 million from the second quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by a tax effected increase of $3.7 million in share-based compensation expense, largely relating to the retirement of our former President and Chief Executive Officer, and partially offset by a tax effected $1.4 million in stockholder transaction costs that was present in the second quarter of last year, with no such expense in the current year.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was $49.2 million, which was an increase of $3.5 million compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2024. The increase primarily relates to the $4.9 million increase in share-based compensation expense and $1.9 million decrease in stockholder transaction costs, both discussed above.

Year-to-Date Fiscal 2025 Results

Net Sales
Net sales were $672.7 million for the six months ended March 29, 2025, an increase of $9.1 million, or 1.4%, compared to $663.6 million for the six months ended March 30, 2024. The increase in net sales is primarily due to a small increase in Bus unit bookings as well as Bus customer and product mix changes that were partially offset by a small decrease in Parts sales.

Bus sales increased $9.5 million, or 1.5%, reflecting a 1.0% increase in units booked and a 0.6% increase in average sales price per unit. 4,425 units booked in the six months ended March 29, 2025 compared with 4,383 units booked during the same period in fiscal 2024. The small increase in unit price for the first six months of fiscal 2025 compared to the same period in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to customer and product mix changes.

Parts sales decreased $0.3 million, or 0.6%, for the six months ended March 29, 2025 compared to the six months ended March 30, 2024. This small decrease is primarily attributed to slight variations due to product and channel mix.

Gross Profit
Fiscal year-to-date gross profit was $131.2 million, an increase of $4.0 million from the same period in the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by the $9.1 million increase in net sales, discussed above, and partially offset by a corresponding increase of $5.2 million in cost of goods sold.

Net Income
Net income was $54.8 million for the six months ended March 29, 2025, a $2.6 million increase from the same period in the prior year. The increase in net income was primarily driven by the $4.0 million increase in gross profit, discussed above.

Adjusted Net Income
Adjusted net income was $62.1 million for the six months ended March 29, 2025, an increase of $3.2 million compared to the same period in the prior year. This is primarily due to the $2.6 million increase in net income, discussed above.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was $95.0 million for the six months ended March 29, 2025, an increase of $1.6 million compared to the same period in the prior year. This is primarily due to the $2.6 million increase in net income, discussed above.

About Blue Bird Corporation:
Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.

The post Blue Bird Reports Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Results; Beats Second Quarter Guidance With Record Result; Reaffirms 2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook appeared first on School Transportation News.

The auction of electric school bus and truck manufacturer Lion Electric Company is moving forward after a last-ditch effort to obtain government funding from the province of Quebec fell through.

Christine Fréchette, Quebec’s minister of economy, innovation and energy, posted on X last week that the Quebec government will not reinvest in Lion after passing on a recovery plan that was submitted to save the manufacturer but on a limited scale.

“This is a difficult, but responsible decision. It’s a local company that offers an innovative product that contributes to the energy transition. The government has a responsibility to support the growth of Quebec businesses,” she posted. “We believed in Lion’s potential, but the submitted recovery plan did not justify the re-injection of significant government sums. Unfortunately, one thing is clear: Granting new funds to Lion Electric would not be a responsible decision.”

On Monday in a Quebec court, a representative of Deloitte that is overseeing the insolvency said without the additional funding all remaining Lion assets will need to be sold.

The court lifted a stay on the auction managed by Deloitte may proceed after issuing a stay in March while Lion sought the additional funding.

The company reportedly owes $244 million to secured and non-secured creditors. A Lion Electric spokesman had no comment when asked by School Transportation News.

Bloomberg News reported that an investment group created the recovery plan that would have resulted in Lion Electric only manufacturing electric school buses going forward out of its St. Jerome plant. But the province already lost $128 million U.S. in investments into Lion with the Canadian federal government losing another $30 million U.S. Ottawa had also invested in Lion.

Public Money at Risk in Lion Electric:

 

o 2021: $19 million Canadian from Investissement Québec (IQ) to purchase shares
o 2021: $37 million from a loan offered by Quebec for the battery pack plant
o 2021: $21 million from the Ottawa loan for the battery pack complex
o 2022: $15 million in a loan from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
o 2023: $98 million loaned by IQ, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Fondaction CSN
o 2024: $7.5 million in a loan from the Quebec government

Source: La Presse

Power Corp. of Canada, according to Bloomberg, was the largest Lion shareholder with a 34-percent stake but has already written down its Canadian $81 million position in the company to zero.

Montreal-based online newspaper La Presse broke the news Wednesday, reporting that an  unnamed U.S. investment firm expressed serious interest in purchasing the Lion assets, but the Quebec proposal had been the most promising.

La Presse also reported that Lion will likely be sold off in parts, which would mean the end of the company. It laid off all its employees, including those in the U.S., and ceased operations except for a select few senior executives working out of Quebec to try and salvage the company. Deloitte is overseeing the the company’s insolvency proceedings and an auction of its assets.

There are about 2,000 Lion Electric school buses at school districts and school bus companies across North America that will need maintenance and customer service going forward.

This is a developing story.

Related: Lion Electric Customers Have Options Despite Insurmountable Debit Forcing the Manufacturer to Auction
Related: Update: Lion Electric Defaults on Credit Repayment, Says It is Avoiding Bankruptcy
Related: Brunet Resigns as Lion Electric President Amid Company Battle to Stay Solvent

The post Update: Quebec Government Passes on Saving Lion Electric, Company’s End Imminent appeared first on School Transportation News.

The Chandler Unified School District in Arizona implemented a pilot program to boost school bus driver’s pay amid a nationwide shortage, reported Azcentral News.

The district’s governing board reportedly set aside roughly $610,000 for stipends and higher wages for school bus drivers for the remainder of this school year and next. The district has 162 bus drivers on staff and 14 on the queue.

According to the new report, with the increases, the annual salary for bus drivers will range from $34,000 to $38,000, depending on the types of routes.

“The pilot program makes Chandler Unified very competitive, if not the most competitive for bus driver pay,” said Chief Financial Officer Lana Berry.

The district serves roughly 44,000 students across 55 schools in the East Valley of Phoenix metro.

Every district school bus driver will reportedly receive a $500 stipend at the end of the current school year. They will also receive greater flexibility to use paid time off.

Additionally, approximately 60 drivers that have added new bus routes or combined previous ones five or more times throughout the quarter will be eligible for a stipend of $500 for the fourth quarter and back pay of $500 for doing so previously.

According to the article, it is expected that about five drivers out of the 60 will be eligible for an additional $500 stipend for taking on what the districts refers to as “hard to fill” routes, five or more times throughout the fourth quarter.

Paid time off flexibility will continue next year as well. In the past, the district’s school bus drivers that worked 32 hours a week were unable to take paid time off. Now, they will be able to use up to 14 hours of paid time off during weeks in which they’ve already worked 32 hours.

Beyond the pilot program, the district reportedly offers $1,000 stipends for new bus drivers and $1,000 stipends for existing bus drivers who refer another driver. Board president Patti Serrano said the district will be holding walk-in interviews.

Related: Hawaii Restores Nearly All School Bus Routes Cut By Driver Shortage
Related: Turning School Bus Driver Shortages Into Opportunities
Related: School Bus Driver Shortage Impacts Florida Districts
Related: (Recorded Webinar) Addressing Driver (& Bus) Shortages: 3 Creative and Measurable Strategies that Really Work

The post Arizona School District Increases Bus Driver Pay to Help with Shortage appeared first on School Transportation News.

The post Are you forecasting to purchase more diesel school buses this upcoming cycle than previously planned? appeared first on School Transportation News.

While several industry insiders told School Transportation News last week that it was too early to tell the impact of new Trump administration tariffs on imports, Blue Bird representatives told investors to expect a 5-percent price increase on all non-electric school buses.

The company made the statement last week during its fiscal year 2025 first quarter financial results call, which reported the company’s second-best quarterly profit and margin, the eighth consecutive quarter of beating guidance, and $250 million of electric school buses in “firm order backlog.”

“Our position is that any potential government tariffs will be passed through to the end customer so there will be no net financial impact on Blue Bird,” said Phil Horlock, who is retiring as president and CEO this week but retaining his board of director seat.

John Wyskiel succeeds Horlock on Feb. 17.

Last week, President Donald Trump paused for 30 days a 25-percent tariff on imported goods from both Canada and Mexico, though a 10-percent tariff on Chinese imports went into effect. Essentially, think of tariffs as an added sales tax by the federal government, Blue Bird CFO Razvan Radulescu said during the Q&A portion of the call on Feb. 5.

Meanwhile, Horlock said Blue Bird is confident U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program funding will continue unfettered. He shared details from a Feb. 4 memo issued by Gregg Treml, the acting CFO of EPA, that stated a federal court injunction pausing Trump administration freezes on unspent federal program funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “shall not be paused and disbursement of funds shall continue while ongoing litigation proceeds or until otherwise directed by a Court.”

Horlock said Blue Bird also has confirmed political support for the Clean School Bus Program with members of Congress.

He added the court order reversing the freeze should also protect nearly $80 million in Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program funding from the U.S. Department of Energy that was appropriated under the Inflation Recovery Act. The funds are to be used to convert Blue Bird’s diesel motorhome manufacturing plant in Fort Valley, Georgia, into a 600,000 square-foot Type D electric school bus facility.

To address the initial pause in EPA funding, Horlock said Blue Bird reprioritized production to build fully-funded school buses earlier and pushed back build dates for bus orders to be paid for with federal money. He added the manufacturer is also prioritizing “significant new EV orders” paid for by state and local funding. Still, Blue Bird lowered the number of forecasted electric school bus deliveries to 1,000 units from the previous range of 1,000 to 1,300.

The company also noted higher internal combustion engine school bus prices compared to a year ago and at comparable levels with its competitors.

Blue Bird also said the quarter-one results beat the previous guidance and that it remained on track to meet the full-year guidance of Adjusted EBITDA at $200 million and a 14-percent margin.

Related: U.S. Delays Tariffs with Canada, Mexico as Bus Associations Warn of Fallout
Related: (STN Podcast E215) Next-Level Safety: Exclusive Interview – Seatbelts Standard on Blue Bird Buses
Related: Blue Bird Announces Standard Lap/Shoulder Seatbelts on All School Buses

The post Blue Bird: Tariffs Would Increase Non-EV School Bus Prices by 5% appeared first on School Transportation News.

MACON, Ga.—Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, announced today its fiscal 2025 first quarter results.

“I am incredibly proud of our team’s achievements in delivering another outstanding result and near record profit in the first quarter,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The Blue Bird team continued to exceed expectations, improving operations, driving new orders, and expanding our leadership in alternative-powered buses. Market demand remains very strong with nearly 4,400 units in our order backlog at the end of the first quarter. Unit sales were about the same as last year, with revenue down by $3.8M, driven by product mix, and we delivered an exceptional 14.6% Adj. EBITDA margin. With 94% of our first quarter unit sales mix comprised of internal combustion engine (ICE) buses, this result demonstrates the very strong earnings power of our base business.

“In our push to expand our leadership in alternative-powered school buses, we delivered over 130 electric-powered buses this quarter, ahead of the plan we communicated in November. We also saw strong growth in EV orders from both the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program and state/local level programs. As of today, we have approximately 1,000 EV buses either sold or in our firm order backlog, which supports our EV sales target for 2025.

“Based on our strong Q1 performance, we’ve reaffirmed our full-year financial guidance for Adjusted EBITDA at $200 million, with a 14% margin. This will be an all-time full-year record for Blue Bird, and we look forward to sustained profitable growth in the coming years.”

FY2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook Reaffirmed

“We are very pleased with the first quarter results, with the second highest ever Q1 Adj. EBITDA” said Razvan Radulescu, CFO of Blue Bird Corporation. “Our business is in a very strong position and we continue to deliver ahead of the plan we have been messaging. We are reaffirming our full-year 2025 guidance for Net Revenue to $1.4-1.5 Billion, Adj. EBITDA to $185-215 million and Adj. Free Cash Flow to $40-60 million. Additionally, we are confirming our long-term profit outlook towards an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15%+ on ~$2 billion in revenues.”

Fiscal 2025 First Quarter Results

Net Sales

Net sales were $313.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, a decrease of $3.8 million, or 1.2%, from the first quarter of last year. Bus sales decreased $5.3 million, reflecting a 1.9% decrease in average sales price per unit, primarily due to customer and product mix changes (lower EV volumes). In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, 2,130 units were booked compared with 2,129 units booked for the same period in fiscal 2024. Additionally, Parts sales increased $1.5 million, or 6.2%, for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This increase is primarily attributed to price increases, driven by ongoing inflationary pressures, as well as higher fulfillment volumes and slight variations due to product and channel mix.

Gross Profit

First quarter gross profit of $60.3 million represented a decrease of $3.2 million from the first quarter of last year. The decrease was primarily driven by the $3.8 million decrease in net sales, discussed above, and partially offset by a corresponding decrease of $0.5 million in cost of goods sold.

Net Income

Net income was $28.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, which was a $2.6 million increase from the first quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by $2.6 million in emission credits that the Company sold in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, recorded in other income (expense), net, with no similar income in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income was $30.6 million, largely consistent with the $29.7 million from the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA was $45.8 million, which was a decrease of $1.9 million compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This decrease results primarily from the lower gross profit, partially offset by improvements in other income(expense), net, as described above..

Conference Call Details

Blue Bird will discuss its first quarter 2025 results in a conference call at 4:30 PM ET today. Participants may listen to the audio portion of the conference call either through a live audio webcast on the Company’s website or by telephone. The slide presentation and webcast can be accessed via the Investor Relations portion of Blue Bird’s website at www.blue-bird.com.

Webcast participants should log on and register at least 15 minutes prior to the start time on the Investor Relations homepage of Blue Bird’s website at http://investors.blue-bird.com. Click the link in the events box on the Investor Relations landing page.
Participants desiring audio only should dial 404-975-4839 or 833-470-1428. The access code is 393430.

A replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes via the same link on Blue Bird’s website.

About Blue Bird Corporation

Blue Bird is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.

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