Harley-Davidson 4Q profit up 9.7 pct

Harley-Davidson 4Q profit up 9.7 pct

	Published : Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:18 By : Agencies Print this Story

MILWAUKEE (AFX) - Harley-Davidson Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose 9.7 percent on strong international sales of its namesake motorcycles.

Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled $252.4 million, or 97 cents per share, compared with a profit of $230 million, or 84 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue climbed 11.9 percent to $1.50 billion from $1.34 billion last year.

Analysts had expected a profit of 96 cents per share on revenue of $1.44 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles grew 6.4 percent for the quarter. Shipments grew 6 percent to 92,848 units. Domestically, sales were up only 0.3 percent, but Harley estimated the overall heavyweight motorcycle market was down 1.7 percent for the quarter. Overseas, sales of the iconic bikes were up 29.4 percent, with Canada seeing an increase of 37.4 percent and Europe, an increase of 31.2 percent for the quarter.

The Milwaukee-based company finished the year with revenue up 8.6 percent to $5.8 billion, compared with $5.34 billion in 2005. Shipments were up 6.1 percent to 349,196.

Net income for the year increased 8.7 percent to $1.04 billion, or $3.93 per share, compared with a profit of $959.6 million, or $3.41 per share, in 2005.

Analysts had predicted a profit of $3.92 per share on revenue of $5.75 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

For the year, motorcycle retail sales worldwide increased 8.5 percent. Domestic sales were up 5.9 percent, while international sales increased 18.6 percent. Sales in Japan were up 16.3 percent, and in Canada, 15.9 percent.

During the quarter, the company repurchased 2.1 million shares at a cost of $151 million. It finished the year repurchasing 19.3 million shares at a cost of $1.06 billion.

Chief executive officer Jim Ziemer said Harley expects earnings per share to continue growing between 11 and 17 percent each year through 2009. The company expects to ship between 82,000 and 84,000 motorcycles in the first quarter this year.