Harley-Davidson cuts 2019 shipments guidance after sales slump

CHICAGO: Harley-Davidson on Tuesday trimmed guidance for shipments of its motorcycles in 2019 after worldwide sales in the second quarter slumped, hurt by higher tariff costs as well as weak demand in the United States.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company now expects to ship about 212,000 to 217,000 bikes in 2019. This compares with the company’s original estimate of 217,000 to 222,000 bikes for the year.

Operating margin in the motorcycles segment, or how much profit the company makes per dollar of sales after accounting for production costs, was also revised down.

Harley now expects operating margin as a percent of revenue to be about 6% to 7% this year, lower than the 8.0% to 9.0% estimated earlier.

In the latest quarter, it reported a 19.3% fall in quarterly profits. The company said its net income fell to $195.63 million, or $1.23 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $242.34 million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, on average, expected the earnings to come in at $1.20 per share.