VALCOURT, QUE. -- BRP Inc. posted a $226.1-million loss in its latest quarter and forecasted a rougher ride ahead for sales as the Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo maker navigates the COVID-19 pandemic.

First-quarter sales fell in all regions except the United States as the virus prompted dealerships and plants to shut down.

The company expects a 40 per cent revenue decline in the second quarter, propped up only by sustained demand among Americans.

"We're not seeing the pickup (in Europe or Asia) that we're seeing in the U.S.," chief financial officer Sebastien Martel said on a conference call with analysts Thursday.

Chief executive Jose Boisjoli said "staycations and social distancing" will work to the advantage of the power sports vehicle maker. But he acknowledged that the fallout of an ongoing recession could weigh more heavily on sales, with revenue expected to drop between 10 and 20 per cent in the second half of its financial year.

"The unemployment rate is going up, consumer confidence is low and housing starts have reduced. All of this at one point will catch up," he said.

BRP manufacturing operations will have resumed by next week in all six countries where it has plants following shutdowns that began between January and March, Boisjoli said.

Production will not be hampered despite physical distancing measures, but shipping will likely remain less efficient until the company builds up its inventory to ship in greater bulk, he added.

The comments came a day after BRP said it would cut 650 jobs or about five per cent of its global workforce as it stopped producing outboard motors, where sales were lagging before the global health crisis.

"For us, it's a bit sad that we discontinued the production of the Evinrude -- the outboard engine," Boisjoli said. "The impact of COVID-19 has left us no choice."

BRP reported a loss of $2.58 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30 as it took a $171.4-million impairment charge related to its marine business compared with a profit of $23.8 million or 25 cents per diluted share a year ago.

Revenue in the quarter fell to $1.23 billion compared with $1.33 billion during the same period in 2019.

Excluding the impairment charge and other items, BRP said its normalized earnings for the quarter amounted to a profit of $22.7 million or 26 cents per diluted share compared with a normalized profit of $52.7 million or 54 cents per diluted share a year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2020.