SHORTCUTS Strong year for Harley
GLOBAL BMW Motorrad retail bike sales in January were eight per cent down at 4818 units. In the UK, the German brand’s registrations for the month fell by a far more severe 24.4 per cent to just 118 units, according to MCIA data. Ironically, BMW subsidiary Husqvarna Motorcycles — which has now been sold off to KTM boss Stefan Pierer’s Austrian private holding company — improved its monthly sales by 7.9 per cent to 587 units.
LAZER HELMETS is the new French
distributor for Knox body and hand armour, almost 90 per cent of which is made in Cockermouth, Cumbria. Lazer will also distribute Knox’s windproof clothing brand Cold Killers throughout France.
PAUL TEUTUL Senior, founder of Orange County Choppers which featured in the Discovery Channel reality TV series American Chopper, has filed for liquidation of his associated trading company Hudson Valley Merchandising under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The business, which – along with its Orange County Choppers Holdings parent – is based in Newburgh, New York State, has declared assets equivalent to £712,000 and debts amounting to £916,000. It will now be wound up on behalf of creditors by a court-appointed trustee.
VANCE & HINES has been fined $500,000 (£320,000) by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) emissions regulatory body for selling about 2000 unapproved exhausts to dealers in the States. This is the largest punishment inflicted on an aftermarket supplier by CARB since it hit Dynojet for $1m in 2007 in relation to similarly unapproved Power Commander III tuning software for motorcycle electronic fuel injection systems. Vance & Hines products are distributed in the UK by MAG Europe.
SPECULATION as to the future ownership of Carole Nash Insurance has re-emerged after the disposal of Bollington Group, the only other remaining fragment of French insurance giant Groupama’s UK portfolio, to a management buy-out team led by Bollington chief executive Paul Moors. This disposal of Bollington leaves Carole Nash as sole outpost of its French parent still under the rump Groupama UK Broking Services banner. Industry analysts believe its continuing retention is purely attributable to an inability to attract an appropriate price for the sale of the business.
Harley-Davidson’s results for its full financial year to 31 December 2012 illustrate ongoing healthy recovery, with unit motorcycle sales and profit up, although fourth-quarter performance was constrained. In that final quarter, the brand’s global retail bike sales grew by 7.5 per cent to 43,405 units, with sales up 8.4 per cent in the US and 6.3 per cent overall in international markets (but, within the latter, purely European sales fell by 10.6 per cent to 5360 units). However, wholesale shipments to dealers worldwide during the period were reduced by 7.2 per cent to 47,067 units on an inventory management basis and this was reflected in a 1.5 per cent revenue reduction from motorcycles and related products to £640.9m. Nevertheless, total operating profit rose by 25.7 per cent to £73.6m, with a powerful contribution from financial services, and underlying net profit increased by 29.3 per cent to £44.8m. Headline net profit plunged by 33.2 per cent, though, because
the previous year’s bottom line benefited from a large portion of one-off earnings from discontinued operations. For the full year, Harley shipped 247,625 bikes into its global dealer network, a 6.2 per cent annual rise. Total worldwide retail sales also grew by 6.2 per cent to 249,849 units. Highlighting major details of that, the US and Canada put on 6.3 per cent, accounting for 172,251 units. The Asia Pacific region climbed by 14.3 per cent to 24,481 units. At 10,090 units, Latin America was up by 39.2 per cent. The downside was Europe, losing 5.9 per cent to 37,027 units.
Hard times for Yamaha as bikes slide into loss
Yamaha’s full-year financial results to 31 December 2012 reveal that the company has slid back into a loss-making position on its core motorcycle operations and struggled to make a profit for the business as a whole. During this 12-month period, global
Yamaha motorcycle sales volume fell by 12.8 per cent to 6.09 million units – some 892,000 fewer units than in the previous year. Declines in Europe, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil were only partially countered by improvements in India, Thailand and the US market. Related revenue was down by ten per cent to £5.5bn, resulting in a marginal annual operating loss on bikes of £1.4m. That compares with a 2011 operating profit from the motorcycle sector worth £190m, based on current foreign exchange translation. The power products division, which
There has been no relief for the Italian powered two-wheeler market at the start of 2013. According to the latest data from Italian industry association ANCMA, domestic over-50cc sales during January plummeted by 23.8 per cent to 9329 units. Scooters fell by 25.6 per cent to 5978 units and motorcycles were down by 20.3 per cent to 3345 units. The unregistered 50cc moped sector was hit even harder – plunging by 30 per cent to 2056 units. Traditionally, January’s PTW sales in Italy represent about five per cent of the annual total.
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10 MARCH 2013
principally produces ATVs (as well as generators and golf buggies), achieved a 3.3 per cent revenue increase to £714m and a slim operating profit of £3.5m. However, it benefited from a £17m reversal of provision for side- by-side UTV product liabilities in the US market and would have also lost money had it not received that income enhancement. Overall, Yamaha suffered a 5.4 per cent
revenue decline to £8.32bn. Operating profit fell by 65.2 per cent to £128.2m. Net profit dropped by 72.2 per cent to £51.6m. Nevertheless, forecasts for Yamaha’s
current 2013 financial year to 31 December 2013 are decidedly more optimistic. The company is predicting a 15.9 per cent revenue growth to £9.65bn. Operating profit is expected to recover by 168.8 per cent to £344.6m. And net profit should be up by 273.9 per cent to £193m.
Annual revenue from motorcycles and related products grew by six per cent to £3.13bn, within total revenue up by five per cent to £3.54bn. Combined operating profit from bikes, parts, accessories and apparel increased by 27.5 per cent to £453.6m. Financial services delivered 5.9 per cent operating profit growth to £180.5m. For Harley as a whole, underlying net profit was impressive,
up by 13.8 per cent at £395.6m. But, once again, this bottom line was significantly moderated by one-off input from discontinued operations in 2011. The real figure was a 4.1 per cent improvement. “Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our employees, dealers and suppliers, Harley-Davidson achieved its growth and restructuring goals in 2012,” commented Harley chairman, president and chief executive Keith Wandell. “The ambitious restructuring of our manufacturing operations, aimed at delivering better responsiveness for customers and greater operating efficiency, is now largely behind us. Harley- Davidson’s purpose is to fulfil the dreams of personal freedom for people around the world. Through our strategy, we believe the company is poised to deliver on that purpose like never before.” The company says that it expects to ship 259,000 to 264,000 bikes into its global network during 2013, a 4.5 to 6.5 per cent annual increase. The first quarter will be between approximately ten and 18 per cent up, with 71,000 to 76,000 units, reflecting a shipment plan based on implementation of seasonal surge production at its York plant in Pennsylvania during the first half of the year.
French hi-viz proposals scrapped
The French authorities have announced the full and permanent scrapping of plans to force bikers riding a machine of more than 125cc to wear a reflective clothing patch. Under the proposals, bikers not wearing the appropriate reflective clothing would have been liable to a €68 fine and two points on their licence.
The news comes after a series of mass demonstrations organised by the French Federation of Angry Bikers, which claims that up to 100,000 riders were involved in national protests. With this battle won, the Angry Bikers
are now seeking to make traffic filtering legal in France.
Derbi closes Spanish factory
Piaggio Group has announced that its Derbi factory in Martorelles near Barcelona is to close, with the loss of more than 150 jobs. Production of Derbi motorcycles will be transferred immediately from Spain to Italy, a move that the company has been actively considering
since 2011.
Derbi-branded scooters have been made in Italy for some time. The Italian parent had reportedly been in negotiations with a Swiss investor interested in taking over the
plant as a going concern and using it for small car assembly. However, when this potential deal turned sour, Piaggio was forced to issue redundancy notices and turn off the lights. Derbi (an acronym extracted from Derivats de Bicicletas) started making small
powered two-wheelers in 1946 and went on to achieve 12 world Grands Prix titles with famous Spanish riders including Angel Nieto and Alex Crivillé. Piaggio acquired the brand in 2001.
International news
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