Harley-Davidson’s third-quarter and nine-month financial results to 30 September boast strong growth in revenue, profit and retail bike sales.
Revenue from motorcycles rose by 10.7 per cent to £529.7m. Parts and accessories revenue was seven per cent up at £154.7m. But general merchandise, which includes branded apparel, fell by 12.6 per cent to £40.9m. Combined operating profit from bikes and these associated products grew by a muscular 21.2 per cent to £108.5m. Financial services contributed a further 5.1 per cent improvement in its operating profit to £47m.
Overall sales revenue for the period therefore increased by 7.2 per cent to £828m. And group net profit shot up by 21.4 per cent to £100.6m.
Global retail motorcycle sales during the quarter were 15.5 per cent up at 70,517 units. The US domestic market, soared by 20.1 per cent to 48,529 units and export markets put on 6.5 per cent at 21,988 units. Sales were up by ten per cent in the Asia Pacific region, 1.6 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 15.6 per cent in Latin America and seven per cent in Canada. The company wholesaled 54,025 units to dealers worldwide, a 2.3 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
For the nine months of 2013 to date, Harley’s total revenue has risen by 6.8 per cent to £2.91bn. Net profit has stacked on 19 per cent to £407.1m. Worldwide bike sales have increased by 4.1 per cent to 214,964 units — 4.1 per cent up in the US, 11.3 per cent in the Asia Pacific region, 20.1 per cent in Latin America, and 3.7 per cent in Canada, but down by 2.2 per cent in the EMEA region. It still expects to ship somewhere between 259,000 and 264,000 bikes to dealers this year.