This morning Thursday January 29, 2015 Harley-Davidson Inc. posted a slightly lower quarterly net profit due largely to a strong U.S. dollar, though results were in line with expectations. The Milwaukee-based company reported net income of $74.5 million in the fourth quarter through Dec. 31, down just over 1 percent from $75.4 million a year earlier. The company reported earnings per share of 35 cents, compared with 34 cents in the fourth quarter of 2013. Analysts had expected earnings per share for the quarter of 34 cents. Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter and 2.7 percent for the full year compared to the year-ago periods, driven by strong international sales – up 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter and 5.4 percent for the full year.
Retail Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Sales . Dealers worldwide sold 47,149 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 2.8 percent compared to 45,875 motorcycles in the year-ago quarter. In the U.S., dealers sold 26,957 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the quarter, down 1.6 percent compared to sales of 27,387 motorcycles in the year-ago period. In international markets, dealers sold 20,192 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles during the quarter, up 9.2 percent compared to sales of 18,488 motorcycles in the year-ago period, with unit sales up 14.2 percent in the Asia Pacific region, 8.7 percent in the EMEA region and 4.7 percent in the Latin America region, and down 5.7 percent in Canada. For the full year 2014, dealers sold 267,999 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles worldwide, up 2.7 percent compared to 260,839 motorcycles in 2013. Retail unit sales were up 1.3 percent in the U.S., 11.8 percent in the Asia Pacific region, 6.4 percent in the EMEA region, 2.1 percent in the Latin America region and down 10.8 percent in Canada compared to full-year 2013.
Guidance.
Harley-Davidson expects to ship 282,000 to 287,000 motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide in 2015, an approximate 4 to 6 percent increase from 2014 shipments. In the first quarter of 2015, the Company expects to ship 79,000 to 84,000 motorcycles compared to 80,682 motorcycles shipped in the year-ago period. The Company expects full-year 2015 operating margin of approximately 18 to 19 percent for the Motorcycles segment. The Company expects 2015 capital expenditures for Harley-Davidson, Inc. of $240 million to $260 million.
Keith Wandell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. said “We continued to broaden our customer base and expand the reach of our brand through unrivaled products and experiences. In international markets, our dealers in Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America posted their highest new motorcycle sales on record for each region, delivering on our expectation for international sales to grow at a faster rate than U.S. sales. And in the U.S., for the third straight year, sales to our outreach customers grew at more than twice the rate of sales to core customers. Our success is the result of a clear focus on managing the company for the long term, building on our well-established strategies and driving continuous improvement in every aspect of our business,”.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In thousands, except per share amounts)
The most important part is that Harley North American motorcycle sales are lower in the 4th quarter versus same period last year. Harley can’t survive (thanks to Indian & co) without acquiring new markets abroad.
Harley has become a boring corporate story. Nothing to be excited about.
I wouldn’t be writing any obituaries. Overall this is still a positive report. As they say in sports a W is still a W. I suspect the very small decrease in North American sales had more to do with exceptionally strong Q4 2013 release of the Rushmore updates than any Q4 2014 rejection of their models in the marketplace.
almost 100k less units then just a few years ago. HD fell and fell, now as they come back a little from the bottom, they spin it as GREAT news. Ray is right, boring. I see that Polaris is killing it these days, awesome!!
What HD needs is new leadership and how can that Pontiac “crew” continue to keep their jobs in marketing? Wasn’t it enough you helped take that down? How did they all end up at HD?
Write the obituary when Polaris and HD have swapped market-share percentages, and not before. Polaris needs to grow *a lot,* and HD needs to shrink *a lot,* before they even reach parity.
I won’t say it can’t/won’t happen; market disruptions are always fun and usually beneficial to consumers. But let’s keep some perspective on those numbers for now, since the over-enthusiastic fanbois always insist on ignoring them.
I think if Polaris would release actual numbers of units and not just % it would paint a different picture.
The Motor Co is doing alright & they will always do alright
but you can;t deny they are losing a percentage of market share to Indian/Victory.
I think it will ebb & flow like any other commodity
But Polaris better get it act together or suffer some backlash
(see article below this one)
Those guys on Iowa wont go down without a fight..pretty sure they’re gearing up as we speak..look out HD..besides, how many bikes can 2nd & 3rd world countries continue to buy at 20k+ per unit ? The new smaller bikes theyre marketing to those countries arent going to pay dividends for a decade or two as far as them eventually buying the full sized road bikes..
H-D is not scare to say how many machines sold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,compare to POLARIS with %,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Why won’t polaris publish victory and indian sales by units???? There must be a reason. I’ve asked on a number of occasions and no one seems willing to do so. There must be a reason. Maybe Robert Padaya (spelling?), would enlighten us please.