Trump vows to 'reciprocate' tariffs against EU after Harley reports 26.7% drop in profit - CNBC

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that European Union's tariffs hitting Harley Davidson were "unfair," and pledged to reciprocate after the company posted first-quarter profit that fell 26.7%.

The U.S. motorcycle company said falling demand, higher costs from U.S. tariffs on raw materials and European taxes on imports of its motorcycles hurt its earnings, which released before the markets opened Tuesday.

Trump, who has previously criticized Harley for its plans to shift some production overseas, said in a tweet that EU tariffs have forced the company to move U.S. jobs overseas. "So unfair to U.S. We will Reciprocate!" he said.

TWEET

Here's how the company did compared with what Wall Street expected:

• Adjusted earnings: 98 cents per share vs. 65 cents per share forecast by Refinitiv.

• Revenue: $1.19 billion vs. $1.19 billion forecast by Refinitiv.

Excluding the impact of tariffs and restructuring costs, the company said Tuesday its net income fell to $127.9 million, or 80 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $174.76 million, or $1.03 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue from motorcycles and related products fell 12.3 percent to $1.19 billion.

Its shares jumped by about 2 percent on the better-than-expected earnings.

The motorcycle maker has struggled with a drop in sales in the U.S. amid fears that younger buyers are less interested in motorcycles than previous generations. Last quarter, the company's shares tanked after it released earnings that missed analysts' expectations.

The company has been trying to get more people excited about riding motorcycles again. In November, it started to preview its LiveWire electric motorcycle in the U.S. and Europe in an attempt to attract more riders overall, including younger ones.

Harley-Davidson also unveiled a ten-year plan in 2017 to attract 2 million new riders by 2027. In addition to investing in electric bikes, it's set up schools across the country to teach people how to ride.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/harley-davidson-q1-2019-earnings.html

2019-04-23 11:21:13Z
52780273198953