MILWAUKEE — Slowed by a decline in U.S. motorcycle sales, Harley-Davidson Inc. on Thursday reported a 43 percent drop in net income for the recent fiscal quarter.
The Milwaukee-based company said it earned $42.2 million, or 22 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $74.5 million, or 35 cents, in the same three-month period a year earlier.
Revenue fell 2.3 percent to $1.18 billion. Worldwide retail motorcycle sales in the quarter slipped less than 1 percent, to 46,857 units, but fell 3.4 percent to 26,044 units in the United States.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of $1.03 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Harley, the world’s largest manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles, has seen its U.S. market share erode as foreign competitors cut prices to attract new customers.
In the recent quarter, Harley had a 51.4 percent share of the U.S. heavyweight motorcycle market, flat compared with a year earlier.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects to ship 1 percent to 3 percent more motorcycles to dealerships this year compared with 2015.
“We are focused, with strength and resolve, on growing demand and building on our substantial market leadership position,” President and CEO Matt Levatich said in a statement.
“Although we expect the macro-economic environment to remain challenging, we are confident we’ll continue to lead with our powerful brand — not simply because of our substantial strengths but through our increased demand driving investments and our incredibly talented and passionate employees and dealers,” Levatich said.
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