Harley-Davidson Q1 Profit Rises, Revenue Down; Cuts Full-year Shipment Guidance

(RTTNews) - Motorcycles maker Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG) Tuesday said first-quarter net income rose to $269.85 million from $265.92 million in the previous year. Earnings per share increased to $1.27 from $1.21 in the year-ago period.

On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.25 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Consolidated revenue fell to $1.67 billion from $1.73 billion in last year's first quarter. Motorcycles and related products revenue slid to $1.511 billion from $1.572 billion reported last year, primarily due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange and slightly lower motorcycle shipments. Analysts expected revenues of $1.58 billion.

In the second quarter, the company expects to ship 83,000 to 88,000 motorcycles, compared to 92,217 motorcycles shipped in the year-ago period.

Looking further ahead, the company now expects to ship 276,000 to 281,000 motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide in 2015, up 2 to 4 percent from 2014. The company previously had provided full-year shipment guidance of 282,000 to 287,000 motorcycles.

HOG closed up around 2 percent on Monday at $61.77 and fell 5.3 percent in pre-market activity Tuesday.