American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 251 June 2020 | Page 64

Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news NEWS BRIEFS While not being paid for May and June 2020, H-D has announced that in addition to an annual base salary of $2.5m, newly minted permanent CEO Jochen Zeitz will be eligible to receive a $1.5m bonus upon Board approval of his new strategic and financial plans later this year (to be paid in February 2021), stock options that could be worth up to $5m, and a one-time "Cash Award" payable in July 2020 in the gross amount of $1m to cover the overall financial impact of his relocation to the U.S. Starting in 2021, he will additionally be eligible to participate in the Harley-Davidson, Inc. short and longterm incentive plans that could be worth some $7.5m in total. He will also be covered by the company's Executive Severance Plan and under a transition agreement similar to the company's transition agreements with other executives. New motorcycle registrations Italy for April were -95.85% at just 526 units, having been - 69.18% in March (3,855 units). For the YTD (Jan - April) new motorcycle registrations in Italy were -49.41% at 20,055 units - some 15,000 plus of those in a good start to the year in January and February. In total PTW terms March was -66.08% at 8,520 units and -96.98% in April with 813 new units registered. The top selling motorcycle in Italy YTD is the BMW R 1250 GS Enduro. For the record, the Italian market was again Europe's largest at +6.26% in motorcycle registration terms for 2019 (98,883 units) and +5.65% in total PTW terms at 231,937 units. Harley Q1 Global Retail -17.7% as Motor Company Announces COVID-19 Response Actions and Steps Toward Recovery Including Strategic Plan Reboot Harley-Davidson sales revenue and production data… 1st quarter 2020 ` Income statements in THREE MONTHS ENDED $1,000s (except share) MARCH 2020 MARCH 2019 Net sales revenue $1,099,788 $1,195,637 Gross profit $318,920 $347,439 Operating income $107,513 $167,112 Net income $69,695 $127,945 Diluted earnings per common share $0.45 $0.80 NET SALES REVENUE Motorcycles $899,365 $964,575 Parts & Accessories $134,685 $159,703 General Merchandise $49,160 $55,401 MOTORCYCLE SHIPMENT DATA United States 33,024 34,505 Exports 19,949 24,386 Total H-D 52,973 58,891 PRODUCT MIX MARCH 2020 MARCH 2019 Touring 21,597 25,043 Custom 20,131 20,451 Sportster/Street 11,245 13,397 Total 52,973 58,891 RETAIL SALES OF H-D MOTORCYCLES: MARCH 2020 MARCH 2019 United States 23,732 28,091 Canada 1,466 1,948 EMEA 7,730 10,797 Asia Pacific Region 5,752 6,074 Latin America Region 1,759 2,241 Total 40,439 49,151 Harley-Davidson, Inc. has reported first quarter 2020 results that were not, in fact, as awful as may have been expected. Indeed, for the first ten weeks of the year to mid- March, the company was headed towards seeing one of its strongest quarterly performances in six years. At the same time as releasing its results, Harley has provided an update on the actions it has taken to address the impact of COVID-19 as it "restarts production and begins moving toward recovery." The company also outlined near-term actions that will lead to a new strategic plan and confirmed that it is to facilitate home delivery where it is permitted. Being termed a "Rewire" of the 'More Roads' strategic plan of 2018, an 18- point framework for a "Rewire" playbook was released with the Q1 results - with fuller details to be published when the company releases its Q2 fiscals in July. However, in the interim, the influence of acting President/CEO Jochen Zeitz is evident in the framework for reevaluation of the company's direction that has been released so far, and the direction of travel appears to be headed towards a complete jettisoning of the much hyped but flawed 'More Roads' thinking - indeed for "Rewire" one might just as well read complete "Reboot". Speaking to the immediate issues of virus response and Q1 performance, Zeitz stated that "throughout this global crisis, we prioritize the wellbeing of our employees and the Harley-Davidson community in every decision we make. Our brand is rooted in community, and we care deeply for all of those who have been personally NOTE: H-D MOTORCYLE SHIPMENT DATA IS NOT THE SAME AS RETAIL REGISTRATIONS affected. "We also honor the heroes working tirelessly to bring care, relief and an end to this terrible pandemic. Continues on page 8 >>>