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Piaggio sales and profits up, Vespa + 13 percent
Fast Bike Industries of Hendersonville, North Carolina, U. S. importer for Italian suspension specialist Andreani Group, has also take on the British made Nitron range of shock absorbers and front suspension cartridge kits. The company says it currently sells to over 170 powersports industry dealers nationally.
Motonation has announced it is now the exclusive North American distributor of Trilobite Premium Aramid Fashion in North America. Trilobite apparel is designed and developed by Biker’ s Crown / Rusty Piston in the Czech Republic and has never before been distributed in the U. S. With the Heritage, Urban and Travel collections, advanced protective materials used include Dyneema, Cordura Denim and patented Trilobitex.
BRP announced the creation of a Powersports Group and a new senior management member with the appointment of Bertrand Thiébaut as Powersports President. The new group brings together the Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Can-Am and Rotax product lines into a single operating unit. The Spyder and Evinrude lines will continue to be operated independently.
KTM is offering some $ 56,300 in contingency prize money for riders using 450 SX-F models in this year’ s AFT Singles( American Flat Track) in the USA.
TCX Boots USA has posted contingency support to AFT Singles competitors for the 2018 season. The Italian-based company produces a wide range of motorcycle boots and has been a long-time supporter of AFT racers, including Harley-Davidson factory rider Sammy Halbert and Indian-mounted privateer Kenny Coolbeth. TCX’ s contingency offering totals $ 10,000.
In November last year, Yamaha WaterCraft Group built its millionth‘ WaveRunner’ PWC( a VX Deluxe) at the Georgia facility where it has been manufacturing them for 29 years.
Organised by Delicate Promotions, the FIM sanctioned AMA Land Speed Grand Championship returns to the Bonneville Speedway near Wendover, Utah, on Aug. 25-30. Also known as the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, the event features both American and international amateur land speed racing competitors vying for AMA and FIM records.
In the first quarter of 2018 the Piaggio Group reported an improvement in performance“ with significant progress on all the main earnings indicators and a reduction in debt”. Total worldwide vehicle shipments of all kinds( PTWs, commercial and industrial vehicles) were + 7 percent( 129,700 vehicles). Group consolidated net sales totalled 312.3 million euro, an improvement of + 1 %(+ 6.7 percent when adjusted for exchange rate changes). The industrial gross margin was 96.7 million euro, up by + 1.6; the return on net sales was 31 %. At
‘ 80,600 PTWs sold worldwide’
31 March 2018, the Piaggio Group posted profit before tax of 7 million euro, a strong increase from 2.5 million euro in the first quarter of 2017; net profit was 4 million euro( up from 1,5 million). In two-wheeler terms, Piaggio sold 80,600 two-wheelers worldwide( 82,500 in Q1 2017), generating net sales of 210.1 million euro( 218.9 million euro in the year-earlier period). The figure includes spares and accessories of 29.5 million euro). PTW sales were + 36.4 percent in India and + 11 in Asia Pacific, offsetting the-15.9 percent decline in EMEA and the Americas, which Piaggio says was largely due to the weather in Europe and the downturn in demand for 50cc vehicles. In Europe Piaggio says it again consolidated its leadership of the scooter market with a share of + 23.6 %; the company says it“ retained a particularly strong presence on the North American scooter market” where its share reached 24.7 %, and that it is already taking action to strengthen its position in terms of motorcycle sales in the region. Piaggio says that the main highlight of its scooter sales“ was the excellent performance of the Vespa brand, which boosted worldwide sales by about + 13 %, with a particularly positive contribution from the Indian market, where sales volumes rose by more than + 70 %.“ In the Group motorcycle business, important results were achieved by the Aprilia brand, with a + 30.6 % increase in sales, and a notably positive response to the naked Tuono models and the SX 50. Moto Guzzi turnover was assisted by the positive sales performance of the V7 models, with worldwide growth of approximately + 18 %. Commercial vehicle sales were + 26.7 percent at 49,200 units for net sales of 102.2 million euro(+ 13.3 %). In January Piaggio announced the opening of its 300th‘ Motoplex’ multi-brand store in Hong Kong. In February the company gave its new Aprilia SR 125 and Aprilia Storm 125 their debut in the Indian market. In March the Moody’ s Investors Service rating agency announced that it had upgraded its Outlook for the Piaggio Group from“ stable” to“ positive”, and confirmed the company ' s B1 ratings. In April Standard & Poor ' s Global Ratings announced its upgrade of the Piaggio Group rating from“ B +” to“ BB-” and
Piaggio has opened its 300th‘ Motoplex’ multi-brand store, in Hong Kong
confirmed its Outlook as“ stable”. Also in April, Piaggio successfully completed placement of a seven-year 250- million-euro non-convertible,
‘ ratings agencies upgrade Piaggio’
unsecured senior bond( paying annual interest of 3.625 %) to refinance bonds of the same amount maturing in 2021. Piaggio has launched a partnership to market the Ape in Egypt- part of its plan to strengthen and expand its position on the fastest growing markets. With light commercial vehicle shipments of around 70,000 in 2017, Egypt is the world’ s second export market for three-wheeled vehicles( after Nigeria) with volumes rising + 50 % since 2010.
S & P and Moody’ s have upgraded Piaggio’ s ratings and risk status
18 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS- JUNE / JULY 2018