Harley-Davidson announced that its earnings for the fourth quarter were up 6.8% as sales in motorcycles continued to increase worldwide. The company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin said its global sales for new motorcycles was up 5.7% during the quarter and by 4.4% for the entire year, as buyers responded well to its new lineup of models.
Harley-Davidson posted net income in the fourth quarter of $75.4 million, which was up from fourth quarter income of one year ago of $70.6 million.
Income was equal to 34 cents a share, compared to income of 31 cents a share during the fourth quarter in 2012. Revenue was up by 2.1% to end the quarter at $1.03 billion.
For the complete year, profit at Harley-Davidson was up 17.6% to nearly $734 million or the equivalent to $3.28 a share. Revenue for the year reached $5.26 billion.
The performance for the entire year also exceeded estimates on Wall Street that had earnings equal to $3.27 a share, with revenue just less than $5.26 billion.
Harley predicted good growth for its global motorcycle sales for 2014. The motorcycle company said sales would increase 7% to 9% and units would be between 279,000 and 284,000. Shipments during the first three months of 2014 are projected to be between 76,500 and 81,500. Last year during the same period, sales were 75,222. Harley said it expects to have capital spending of between $215 million and $235 million.
The company announced it had completed its restructuring activities during 2013, which resulted in an annual benefit of over $2.1 million. It has spent over $479 million in restructuring costs since 2009, with measures saving the company more than $310 million in 2013. It expects the annual recurring savings from its restructuring to be near $320 million staring in 2014.
As the economy improves, more and more consumers have more confidence to purchase large dollar items and that has benefitted Harley-Davidson both domestically and internationally.
