Harley Soars as Sales Overcome Supply Hurdles to Beat Estimates By Investing.com

Investing.com – Harley-Davidson stock (NYSE:) surged 7% Wednesday as sales of its iconic motorcycles left supply chain challenges behind to go past estimates in the third quarter.

Adjusted profit per share of $1.18 was well ahead of Wall Street analysts’ estimate of 78 cents as the company shipped 12% more motorcycles and sold more of the higher-margin models.

Operating margin expanded by 360 basis points to 8.4% year as the company’s comparison period included heavier Rewire restructuring charges. One basis point is one hundredth of a percent.

‘Rewire’ is the name the company gave to the exercise it undertook to overhaul its business. It was complete in January, and the company says it laid the foundation for The Hardwire, the company’s 5-year strategic plan to deliver profitable and long-term growth.

Third-quarter revenue from motorcycles and related products rose 20%, to $1.16 billion. Total revenue rose by 17%, to $1.36 million.

North America was the only geography that showed growth in retail sales in the September quarter. The rest continued to be affected by pandemic-driven restrictions.

Inventory at its dealers fell by around 4%, to 25,000 units, as more customers chose to ride its motorcycles and adhere to social distancing.

“We are working to align supply with demand,” Reuters quoted Chief Financial Officer Gina Goetter as telling analysts during a conference call.

Harley told Reuters it is exploring imposing surcharges, currently applied only in its U.S. market, on its motorbikes worldwide next year in a bid to cope with inflationary pressures. The company raised the surcharge in its biggest market them to 3.5% in the third quarter from 2% to offset higher raw material costs.

The company retained its forecast of 30%-35% growth in its annual motorcycle sales.