Harley-Davidson 3Q profit fall 15.3 percent

Photo: Harley-Davidson 3Q profit fall 15.3 percent

Harley-Davidson Inc. earnings dropped down 15.3 percent because of sluggish U.S. motorcycle sales.

Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totaled $265 million (EUR185.3 million), or $1.07 per share, compared with a profit of $312.7 million, or $1.20 per share, a year ago. Revenue dropped 5.8 percent to $1.54 billion (EUR1.08 billion) from $1.64 billion last year.

The earnings decline still beat Wall Street projections. Analysts had expected a profit of $1.05 per share on revenue of $1.52 billion (EUR1.06 billion), according to a poll by Thomson Financial. Revenue was slightly above analyst expectations of $1.52 billion.

Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles were flat in the quarter, down 0.2 percent. Shipments were down 10.8 percent to 86,535 units, as the company had predicted they would be in September. Domestically, sales were down 2.5 percent, while overseas, Harley's sales were up 8.8 percent.