After flirting with bankruptcy, Harley-Davidson is back to more solid financial footing. The Motor Company announced Tuesday that it earned $1.11 per share in 2010, up from $0.30 per share in 2009.
It's a far cry from two years ago when the situation was so dire that I ran a piece entitled, "Who will fold first, Chrysler or Harley?". At that time stock analysts were listing Harley-Davidson stock as a "Sell," which is never good, and the share price was $13.70, down from $48.05 just a few months before. Today the company's stock sits at $39.54.
Harley is not entirely out of the woods yet. According to today's release, "For the fourth quarter of 2010, Harley-Davidson recorded a loss from continuing operations of $42.1 million, or $0.18 per share, which includes the impact of a one-time, $85.2 million charge from the Company’s early repurchase of senior unsecured notes during the quarter."
Additionally, retail sales remain essentially flat, decreasing 1.0 percent worldwide and 0.2 percent in the U.S.
Where Harley is really making the money is in their financing operation. Just as General Motors often made more money on its GMAC unit, leading some people to say they were a bank with a auto-building unit, Harley makes a lot of money from Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The company reported "operating income from financial services of $181.9 million for the full year, including $43.5 million in the fourth quarter. Operating income from motorcycles and related products was $378.8 million for the full year, including an operating loss of $6.8 million in the fourth quarter."
Comments
Still good to see the company stock rising. I only hope it continues in that direction.
I see cuts in just about every aspect of the Motor Company. Hopefully the cuts will help them stay lean enough to survive.
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