A snapshot of global bike and ATV industry share performance at the trading closure on Friday 24 October 2014.
A serious good-news week for most global exchanges saw Harley-Davidson topping growth rates in New York’s S&P 500 following its third-quarter financial performance announcement on Tuesday morning. Despite falls in revenue and profitability, these fortuitously exceeded analysts’ estimates. And improving domestic retail bike sales also hit the button on institutional investor research forecasts.
As a result, Harley stock advanced by 7.3 per cent to $62.65 at the day’s close, its biggest jump in a single session for nearly two years. And good fortune stuck. The price at Friday’s closure was a full eight per cent up week-on-week. However, it should not be forgotten that yearly decline was still nine per cent down at that point.
Polaris, which released far more muscular quarterly sales and profit improvement percentages a day later, didn’t earn the same kudos, closing with only a 1.9 per cent weekly gain.
But it wasn’t only bike manufacturers basking in autumnal corporate sunshine. The S&P index as a whole finished 3.88 per cent up after five days’ trading, as confidence grew in the US economy. A similar resurgence was felt elsewhere too, driven by various optimistic factors.
In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index climbed by 2.54 per cent on expectations of helpful intervention by the European Central Bank. All bike-related stocks were on that adding-value bandwagon, with KTM flaunting the best gain of five per cent. Piaggio, which filed somewhat mixed nine-monthly results on Thursday, closed 3.5 per cent up.
The Bombay Stock Exchange maintained India’s bull run too. Its BSE Sensex 30 index is now knocking on the door of an across-the-board 30 per cent annual increase. Every single Indian powered two-wheeler manufacturer exited the week with useful share price improvements.
Further east, the Japanese were smiling as well, as a boost in equity purchases by Japan’s public pension fund allied to the export-friendly weakening yen. All four indigenous bike makers saw their share prices soar.
The only place to find a distinct down-side was in China, where nervousness about slowing GDP growth is eating into investor bravery. Consequentially, the Shanghai Composite was on the marginally negative side of stagnant and shares in 60 per cent of listed Chinese motorcycle manufacturers slumped.
Price (P) High (H) Low (L) Change (C) 52-week range (R) One-year return (Y)
USA (US dollar)
Harley-Davidson P 63.35 H 63.45 L 62.21 C +0.54% R 74.13 – 54.22 Y -0.99%
Polaris P 146.18 H 148.05 L 145.64 C -0.79% R 152.88 – 118.80 Y +11.42%
Arctic Cat P 32.09 H 32.30 L 31.325 C +1.65% R 59.73 – 30.11 Y -35.65%
US Highland P 0.45 H 0.45 L 0.45 C N/A R 0.59 – 0.22 Y N/A
Viper P 0.0042 H 0.0047 L 0.0042 C -23.64% R 0.05 – 0.0012 Y -86%
Notes: Polaris makes ATVs, snowmobiles, Victory and Indian motorcycles. Arctic Cat makes ATVs and snowmobiles. US Highland makes a range of four-stroke dirt bikes. Viper Powersports produces the Diamondback Super Cruiser with a British-built 2490cc Ilmor engine.
CANADA (Canadian dollar)
BRP P 24.33 H 24.62 L 24.29 C -1.06% R 31.98 – 23.51 Y -11.66%
Notes: Bombardier Recreational Products makes Can-Am ATVs and Spyder road trikes, as well as Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo personal watercraft and Rotax engines for a range of applications including motorcycles — most recently Buell’s EBR superbike.
EUROPE (euro)
BMW P 82.33 H 83.54 L 81.85 C -0.77% R 96.10 – 74.74 Y +1.04%
Piaggio P 2.18 H 2.224 L 2.17 C +1.4% R 3.092 – 1.93 Y +2.83%
KTM P 109.65 H 111.50 L 106.75 C +1.43% R 111.50 – 58.76 Y +78.96%
VW P 161.28 H 164.45 L 161.10 C -0.99% R 198.43 – 147.35 Y -3.13%
Notes: Volkswagen is the owner of Ducati Motor Holding
INDIA (rupee)
Hero P 3110.05 H 3144.00 L 3092.00 C -0.17% R 3144.00 – 1907.00 Y +58.45%
Bajaj P 2529.70 H 2541.00 L 2486.90 C +1.39% R 2541.00 – 1793.20 Y +24.23%
TVS P 255.35 H 257.60 L 254.40 C +0.1% R 263.70 – 46.70 Y +414.01%
Eicher P 11,890.55 H 12,000.00 L 11,860.00 C +0.06% R 12,372.50 – 3844.05 Y +204.02%
Mahindra P 1263.70 H 1272.00 L 1255.00 C +0.24% R 1433.70 – 839.66 Y +47.35%
Maharashtra P 927.55 H 936.00 L 900.70 C +0.66% R 943.95 – 379.00 Y +143.57%
Scooters India P 25.35 H 26.50 L 25.00 C -0.59% R 36.75 – 14.20 Y +51.8%
Notes: Hero MotoCorp is a former Honda JV partner. Bajaj has technical partnerships with KTM and Kawasaki. TVS is a former Suzuki JV partner. Bajaj and TVS also both export. Eicher makes the Royal Enfield brand. Mahindra & Mahindra has a technical partnership with Taiwanese brand SYM and an own-brand motorcycle range. Maharashtra Scooters assembles CKD scooter kits manufactured by Bajaj, which is also a substantial shareholder in the company. Scooters India manufactured Lambretta scooters until 1997 but now only makes Vikram three-wheeled taxis and light trucks. The Indian government has a majority stake.
PAKISTAN (Pakistani rupee)
Atlas Honda P 290.00 H 295.00 L 290.00 C -1.83% R 328 – 199.00 Y N/A
Pak Suzuki P 304.55 H 328.34 L 303.30 C -4.46% R 339.01 – 119.00 Y N/A
Notes: Atlas Honda and Pak Suzuki are JV motorcycle assembly and distribution partners.
JAPAN (yen)
Honda P 3322 H 3380 L 3293 C -1.29% R 4385 – 3251.5 Y -11.25%
Yamaha P 1934 H 1982 L 1925 C +0.52% R 2188 – 1265 Y +31.09%
Suzuki P 3321 H 3354 L 3298.5 C +1.73% R 3827.5 – 2335 Y +40.77%
Kawasaki P 412 H 421 L 411 C -0.24% R 496 – 350 Y +3.55%
CHINA (yuan)
Qianjiang P 6.54 H 6.67 L 6.52 C -1.21% R 7.57 – 4.40 Y +40.95%
Qingqi P 5.99 H 6.11 L 5.87 C +1.87% R 6.77 – 3.34 Y N/A
Zongshen P 7.66 H 7.80 L 7.55 C -1.16% R 8.33 – 3.92 Y +62.23%
Sundiro P 5.10 H 5.14 L 5.04 C +0.39% R 5.95 – 3.48 Y +21.51%
Jialing P 6.97 H 7.16 L 6.95 C -2.11% R 7.95 – 2.90 Y +119.87%
Lifan P 8.43 H 8.45 L 8.27 C +1.32% R 9.63 – 5.65 Y +31.34%
Loncin P 15.34 H 15.93 L 15.31 C -2.66% R 18.81 – 7.74 Y +78.7%
Linhai P 9.06 H 9.38 L 8.90 C -2.79% R 10.88 – 4.80 Y +74.75%
CHINA (Hong Kong dollar)
Jianshe P 9.26 H 9.40 L 9.26 C -0.22% R 9.40 – 5.20 Y +71.16%
Guangzhou Auto P 7.19 H 7.41 L 7.18 C -2.57% R 10.94 – 6.72 Y -14.29%
Notes: Qianjiang owns both the exported Keeway brand and the formerly Italian Benelli brand. Qingqi is a Suzuki JV partner, a Peugeot scooter contractor and also makes Qingqi and Sinnis branded bikes. Zongshen produces own-brand bikes and proprietary engines, and has JV partnerships with Piaggio, producing scooters, and Harley-Davidson, making parts. Sundiro is the biggest Honda JV bike partner in China. Jialing makes and exports own-brand bikes using Honda licensed technology and is a Honda JV power products partner. Lifan makes and exports own-brand bikes, and distributes MV Agusta products in China. Loncin is a Kawasaki JV partner and OEM engine contractor to BMW Motorrad. Linhai and Jianshe are Yamaha JV partners. Guangzhou Automobile Group is the parent of Honda JV partner and own-brand bike manufacturer Wuyang. It also has JV car production partnerships with Honda and Toyota.
VIETNAM (Hong Kong dollar)
VMEPH P 0.485 H 0.485 L 0.485 C N/A R 0.69 – 0.40 Y -8.49%
Notes: Vietnam Manufacturing & Export Processing Holdings is the third-largest Vietnamese scooter and motorcycle manufacturer. It is a JV partnership with Taiwanese brand SYM. VMEPH is headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on both the HK and Taipei stock exchanges.
TAIWAN (Taiwanese dollar)
Sanyang P 27.30 H 27.30 L 26.95 C +0.18% R 63.00 – 25.20 Y -44.86%
Notes: Sanyang Industry is the leading Taiwanese powered two-wheeler manufacturer through its widely-exported SYM brand.
MALAYSIA (ringgit)
Oriental Holdings P 7.39 H 7.39 L 7.32 C +0.14% R 8.93 – 6.95 Y -16.69%
Hong Leong P 4.30 H 4.40 L 4.30 C N/A R 7.543 – 3.95 Y -0.26%
Notes: Oriental Holdings is a Honda JV partner. Hong Leong Industries is a Yamaha JV partner and former owner of the German MZ concern.
INDONESIA (rupiah)
Astra P 6600 H 6675 L 6575 C -1.49% R 8050 – 6050 Y -2.14%
Notes: Astra International is a Honda JV partner. Its controlling shareholder is Jardine Matheson Holdings, a British-managed conglomerate domiciled in Hong Kong.
SOUTH KOREA (won)
KR P 960 H 1010 L 945 C -4% R 1495 – 425 Y +93.94%
Daelim P 69,400 H 69,800 L 62,700 C -5.79% R 103,500 – 62,700 Y -29.4%
Notes: KR Motors (formerly S&T) manufactures Hyosung-branded bikes and ATVs, exporting to the US, Europe including the UK and elsewhere. Daelim Industrial is a diversified conglomerate which retains a controlling 59 per cent stake in Daelim Motor, the largest motorcycle and scooter manufacturer in Korea. (The remainder is British-owned, by the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank.)