INDUSTRY NEWS
1/17/2002 - More Records For Harley
Posted By Paul Carruthers

Record Sales, Again
Harley-Davidson today announced record sales and earnings for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. Revenue for the quarter was $894.4 million compared with $756.2 million in the year-ago quarter, an 18.3 percent increase, according to Harley.

Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 39 cents, a 26.8 percent increase compared with last year’s 31 cents. Revenue for the full year was $3.36 billion, compared with $2.91 billion in 2000, a 15.7 percent increase. Net income for the year was $437.7 million, a 25.9 percent increase versus last year’s $347.7 million, while diluted EPS for the full year were $1.43, a 26.4 percent increase compared with $1.13 in 2000.

“The year 2001 was our 16th consecutive year of record revenue and income, in spite of the weaker global economy,” said Jeffrey L. Bleustein, chairman and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc., in a company press release “Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the fourth quarter were strong with 12.9 percent unit growth over last year.”

“In addition to strong demand for our traditional products, we also successfully launched our new performance cruiser, the V-Rod. In late November, we began shipping V-Rod motorcycles to our dealer network. Dealers and customers alike were anxiously awaiting this innovative new product which has received acclaim from industry experts worldwide.”

“Even though the world is experiencing difficult economic conditions, fourth quarter retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and progress in expanding our motorcycle capacity have given us the confidence to increase our production target to 258,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles for 2002,” said Bleustein. “We will continue to manage our business for the long-term while carefully monitoring the motorcycle market and other near-term indicators.”

Yup, PT Barnum was right on.