Harley's 2016 shipments fall short, forecasts dull 2017

(Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc said motorcycle shipments for 2016 fell short of its estimates, and the company forecast shipments for this year to be flat to down modestly.

The Milwaukee-based company's shares were down 2 percent at $56.81 in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Harley, which commands about half the U.S. big-bike market, said motorcycle shipments fell 11.9 percent to 42,414 units in the fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31.

The company shipped 262,221 motorcycles in 2016, below its expectation of 264,000-269,000 units.

Harley's retail sales in the United States, its biggest market were flat, compared with a year earlier.

The motorcycle maker's net income rose to $47.18 million, or 27 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $42.2 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

 

Revenue from motorcycles and related products fell to $933 million from $1.01 billion.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 31 cents per share and revenue of $972.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)