Harley-Davidson Delivers Strong Growth For Fourth Quarter And For Full Year

Harley-Davidson released today its fourth quarter financial statements, revealing the company’s fourth-quarter income from continuing operations was $70.6 million on consolidated revenue of $1.17 billion, compared to 2011 income from continuing operations of $54.6 million on consolidated revenue of $1.18 billion. Fourth-quarter 2012 earnings per share were $0.31, up 29.2% compared to EPS of $0.24 in the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, Harley-Davidson income from continuing operations was $623.9 million on consolidated revenue of $5.58 billion, compared to full-year 2011 income from continuing operations of $548.1 million on consolidated revenue of $5.31 billion. Full-year 2012 EPS was $2.72, up 16.7% from EPS of $2.33 in 2011.

Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 7.5% in the quarter and 6.2% for the full year, compared to the year-ago periods.

“The ambitious restructuring of our manufacturing operations, aimed at delivering better responsiveness for customers and greater operating efficiency, is now largely behind us,” said Keith Wandell, Chairman, President and CEO. “Motorcycle sales grew in 2012, fueled by exceptional products and retail experiences. Together with our dealers, we grew sales to U.S. outreach customers faster than to core customers, grew U.S. market share and continued to expand internationally.”

The report also notes for the full year 2012, retail unit sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 6.2% worldwide, with increases of 6.6% in the U.S. and 5.6% internationally compared to 2011. Dealers sold 249,849 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles worldwide in 2012, with retail unit sales up 39.2% in the Latin America region, 14.3% in the Asia Pacific region and 6.2% in the North America region (U.S. and Canada). Interestingly, retail unit sales are down 3.0% in the EMEA region compared to 2011.

Another encouraging stat from the report reveals, industry wide, U.S. heavyweight (651cc-plus) retail unit sales increased 4.0% in 2012 compared to 2011.

To read the full report, click here to visit the Harley-Davidson website.

By Troy Siahaan