Harley-Davidson Inc. says, profit falls 26.3 percent

By Anastasia Tomazhenkova: Weak U.S. motorcycle sales caused the 26.3 percent fall of Harley-Davidson Inc. fourth-quarter profit.

Photo: Harley-Davidson Inc. says, profit falls 26.3 percent

Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled 186.1 million dollars (Ђ126.92 million), or 78 cents per share, compared with a profit of 252.4 million dollars, or 97 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue dropped 7.7 percent to 1.39 billion dollars (Ђ950 million) from 1.50 billion dollars in the period.

Harley Davidson's analysts had expected a profit of 82 cents per share on revenue of 1.34 billion dollars (Ђ910 million), according to a poll by Thomson Financial. The earnings estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles were down 6.1 percent in the quarter, and 14.2 percent in the U.S. The company said the domestic heavyweight motorcycle market was down 9 percent in the quarter. Overseas, Harley's sales were up 17.4 percent.

Harley's shipments were down 12.5 to 81,206 units, a drop of 11,642 units.