Harley-Davidson Reports 2014 Fiscal Results

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Harley-Davidson reported sales of 267,999 motorcycles in 2014, a 2.7% increase from the 260,839 motorcycles sold in 2013. The uptick in sales resulted in a 7.8% increase in motorcycle sales revenue for its 2014 fiscal year, pushing the bottom line to a profit of $844.6 million.

“Harley-Davidson achieved a great year of financial performance in 2014, with double-digit earnings growth, revenue topping $6 billion and continued strong improvement in margins,” says Keith Wandell, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Despite a slight dip in the fourth quarter, Harley-Davidson reported a 1.3% increase in U.S. motorcycle sales, delivering 171,079 motorcycles to American consumers. Harley-Davidson claims strong sales for the Road Glide, Ultra Low, Ultra Limited Low, CVO Street Glide, Freewheeler and Street models. Demand decreased, however, for the models saw a surge in sales last year from receiving their Project Rushmore updates. Overall, Harley-Davidson claims a 53.3% market share in the U.S. for motorcycles displacing more than 600cc.

Outside the U.S., Harley-Davidson saw sales increase by .3% to 96,920 motorcycles compared to 91,976 motorcycles sold in 2013. Sales increased in Europe, Japan, Latin America and other markets, though Harley-Davidson did see a decline in Canadian sales.

“We also continued to broaden our customer base and expand the reach of our brand through unrivaled products and experiences,” says Wandell. “In international markets, our dealers in Asia Pacific , EMEA and Latin America posted their highest new motorcycle sales on record for each region, delivering on our expectation for international sales to grow at a faster rate than U.S. sales. And in the U.S., for the third straight year, sales to our outreach customers grew at more than twice the rate of sales to core customers.”

Motorcycle sales produced $5.57 billion in revenue, up from $5.26 billion in 2013. Overall, Harley-Davidson reported a net profit of $844.6 million for 2014, compared to $734.0 million in 2013.

For the new year, Harley-Davidson expects to ship between 282,000 and 287,000 motorcycles in 2015.

[Source: Harley-Davidson]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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