Harley-Davidson’s performance in the first quarter of 2019 continued to be desperate, despite plenty of upbeat flannel from its chief executive Matt Levatich. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
Total revenue for the three months was 10.2% down to £1.068bn, as wholesale shipments to dealers worldwide fell by 7.9% to 58,891 bikes. Operating profit plunged by 29.3% to £129m and net profit was 26.8% lower at £98.8m.
Global retail volume slid by 3.8% to 49,151 motorcycles. Domestic sales were 4.4% down to 28,091 — at least beating a 4.7% quarterly retreat for the overall 601cc-plus market in the US and thereby increasing share very slightly. International numbers were 3.3% down to 21,060. European volume dropped by 2.1% to 9508, against a 0.6% fall to 10,797 for the EMEA region within which it resides. Asia-Pacific countries, with Japan and Australia as major players, lost 4% to 6074 — although Harley claimed its new manufacturing plant in Thailand has just begun to boost sales in the ASEAN trading bloc.
The company also said worldwide retail sales during the quarter were impacted by limited availability of Street models, due to a recall announced in January.
Commenting on what others might view as a lamentable situation, Harley supremo Levatich enthused: “We are acting with agility and discipline to take full advantage of rapidly evolving global markets. US market share growth and retail sales performance in the first quarter are further evidence of the effects we are having as we continue to implement and dial-in our More Roads efforts. We are driven by our unparalleled rider focus and deep analytics that are guiding our efforts today and into the future. We, along with our dealers, are determined to lead and stimulate global industry growth.”