Balancing excitement for its 2024 lineup of motorcycles with the realities of the current uncertain economic environment will continue to be a challenge this year for
Harley-Davidson.
The company’s chief executive officer
Jochen Zeitz said Thursday the manufacturer is still dealing with the headwinds of high interest rates and a lack of consumer confidence.
Harley reported revenue of $1.05 billion for the fourth quarter, down 8% from Q4 of 2022. For the full year, revenue was $5.7 billion, an increase of 1% over 2022.
The company’s adjusted revenue for Q4 was $807 million, which missed Wall Street expectations of $930.2 million. Harley reported it had diluted earnings of 18 cents per share for the quarter, which exceeded Wall Street expectations of 4 cents per share.
Retail performance, while better than anticipated by the company, still decreased in the fourth quarter. Global motorcycle shipments were down 13% in quarter four compared to last year. For the full year, global motorcycle shipments were down 7%.
In the fourth quarter,
LiveWire reported the sale of 514 electric motorcycles, bringing the full-year total to 660 units sold. LiveWire is a separately traded public company still majority owned by Harley.
Last July, Harley
revised its guidance for the remainder of 2023. Harley-Davidson Motor Company (the segment of the company that produces motorcycles) revenue was projected to be flat to up to 3%. Guidance for LiveWire motorcycle unit sales was also cut from a range of 750 to 2,000 down to 600 to 1,000.
“While we are very excited by the early read of our new year model launch, we’re providing broader guidance than usual to our outlook due to the continuing headwinds that affect our business,” said Zeitz. “Inventory management will continue to be a core part of our strategy to ensure we have the right balance for both the (dealer) network and customers.”
For 2024, the company expects HDMC revenue to be flat to down 9% and operating income margin of 12.6% to 13.6%. LiveWire motorcycle unit sales are projected to be between 1,000 and 1,5000 with an operating loss of $115 to $125 million. That loss is attributed to continued product development.
“To accelerate the path to profitability, we plan to drive down the cost of our products and continue to carefully manage cash, which is reflected in the guidance,” said
Karim Donnez, chief executive officer of LiveWire.
Harley is continuing to evolve its marketing strategy to drive dealership traffic and engagement, according to Zeitz. He said the company has “stood up” its Harley-Davidson Homecoming celebration as another core event that will bring the brand closer to new and existing customers.
Harley is also anticipating spending between $225 million to $250 million in 2024 on capital investments including product development and capability enhancements.
