Harley-Davidson Profit Rises, Cuts FY Shipments Outlook; Stock Down 8%

(RTTNews) - Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) on Tuesday reported a rise in profit for the first quarter despite lower revenues, as the motorcycle maker's bottom line was aided by lower expenses and reduced tax rate. Earnings for the period trumped Wall Street's expectations, but revenues fell short of estimates.

Shares of the company slipped over eight percent on the New York Stock Exchange, after it lowered its full-year shipments outlook.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based motorcycle maker's first-quarter profit rose to $269.9 million or $1.27 per share from $265.9 million or $1.21 a year-ago. On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.25 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue for the first quarter slipped to $1.67 billion from $1.73 billion last year.

Motorcycles and related products revenue slid to $1.51 billion from $1.57 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.58 billion for the quarter.

Dealers worldwide sold 56,661 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the first quarter, down from 57,415 motorcycles in the year-ago quarter. The company believes increased, aggressive competitive motorcycle discounting was among the factors adversely affecting first-quarter Harley-Davidson sales.

"Given the first-quarter retail results, and ongoing, increased levels of aggressive competitive discounting in the U.S. which we expect will continue, we are taking the precautionary step of lowering our estimated growth rate for full-year motorcycle shipments in order to manage supply in line with demand and protect the premium nature of our brand," said CEO Keith Wandell.

For the first quarter, Harley-Davidson's effective tax rate was 34.4 percent down from 35.0 percent last year.

Looking forward, the company now expects to ship 276,000 to 281,000 motorcycles, down from prior guidance of 282,000 to 287,000 motorcycles.

HOG is currently trading at $56.50, down $5.27 or 8.53%, on the NYSE.