Harley-Davidson sales slump continues
Harley-Davidson announced its third-quarter profit plunged versus a year ago, but topped Wall Street estimates, sending shares higher.
The motorcycle maker said its profit fell 24 percent year-over-year to $86.6 million, or $0.55 a share, as revenue slipped 3.8 percent to $1.27 billion. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting earnings of $0.51 on revenue of $1.04 billion. Adjusted earnings, which exluded restructuring costs and E.U. and China tariffs, were 70 cents a share.
“The company was encouraged by global retail sales results driven by its actions and tempered U.S. industry rate of decline,” Harley-Davidson said in its earnings release.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOG | HARLEY-DAVIDSON INC. | 32.48 | -0.22 | -0.67% |
International retail sales rose 2.7 percent versus a year ago while the decline in U.S. retail sales fell 3.6 percent. Motorcycle shipments were down 5.8 percent year-to-date to 45,837.
Harley says it saved $16.7 million in the quarter as a result of its manufacturing optimization initiative, which included closing facilities in Australia and Kansas City, Missouri. As a result of the initiative, Harley expects to save $25 million to $30 million in 2019 and $65 million to $70 million annually after 2020.
Harley reaffirmed its full-year 2019 motorcycle shipments guidance of 212,000 to 217,000. It expects to ship between 38,500 and 43,500 motorcycles in the fourth quarter.
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Shares of the motorcycle maker were up 8.6 percent this year through Monday’s closing bell.