Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On October 30, 2021, the United States and the European Union announced an
agreement related to the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum that the U.S.
implemented in 2018 and the subsequent rebalancing tariff measures that the EU
took. This agreement will remove the additional tariffs that the EU imposed on
motorcycles Harley-Davidson, Inc. imported into the EU, reducing the total
tariff rate from 31% to 6% effective January 1, 2022. The EU tariff rate will
remain at 31% through the end of 2021. The lower 6% tariff rate will apply to
all motorcycles that the Company imports into the EU, regardless of origin. As a
result of the agreement, Harley-Davidson now expects:
•The 2021 annual impact from tariffs to be $61 million versus the previously
disclosed $64 million. This change reflects the decision to not increase the
tariff rate to 56% in December 2021 as the EU had previously planned.
•No incremental impact from tariffs in 2022. The Company had previously guided
2022 incremental tariff expense of $200 million to $225 million.
For the full-year 2021 Motorcycles and Related Products (Motorcycles) segment,
guidance remains unchanged, relative to recent guidance provided on October 27,
2021, where the Company continues to expect:
•Motorcycles segment revenue growth to be 30 to 35 percent
•GAAP Motorcycles segment operating income margin of 6 to 8 percent, which did
not change given the magnitude of the updated EU tariff impact in 2021
•Financial Services segment operating income growth of 95 to 105 percent
•Capital expenditures of $135 million to $150 million
The Company continues to pursue its appeal of the revocation, in April 2021, of
the Binding Origin Information ("BOI") decisions that allowed the Company to
supply its European Union market with certain of its motorcycles produced at its
Thailand manufacturing facility at a reduced tariff rate. The company also
continues to pursue its appeal of the denial of the Company's application for
temporary relief from the effect of the revocation of the BOI decisions. There
is no assurance that these appeals will be successful.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
The company intends that certain matters discussed in this report are
"forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from
liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the
context of the statement will include words such as the company "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "plans," "may," "will," "estimates," "targets,"
"intends," "forecasts," "sees," or words of similar meaning. Similarly,
statements that describe or refer to future expectations, future plans,
strategies, objectives, outlooks, targets, guidance, commitments, or goals are
also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially, unfavorably or favorably, from those anticipated as of the date of
this report. Certain of such risks and uncertainties are described below.
Shareholders, potential investors, and other readers are urged to consider these
factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements included in this report are only made as of the date of this report,
and the company disclaims any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Important factors that could affect future results and cause those results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements
include, among others, the following: (i) the COVID-19 pandemic, including the
length and severity of the pandemic across the globe and the pace of recovery
following the pandemic; and (ii) the company's ability to: (A) execute its
business plans and strategies, including The Hardwire and the evolution of
LiveWire as a standalone brand, successfully execute its remodeled approach to
supply and inventory management, and strengthen its existing business while
allowing for desirable growth; (B) manage supply chain and logistics issues,
including quality issues, unexpected interruptions or price increases caused by
supplier volatility, raw material shortages or natural disasters, and longer
shipping times and increased logistics costs, including by successfully
implementing pricing surcharges; (C) invest in electric vehicle ("EV")
technology required to lead the transformation of motorcycling and leverage its
engineering expertise, manufacturing footprint, supply chain infrastructure, and
global logistics capabilities in the EV sector; (D) accurately analyze, predict
and react to changing market conditions and successfully adjust to shifting
global consumer needs and interests; (E) successfully access the capital and/or
credit markets on terms that are acceptable to the company and within its
expectations; (F) successfully carry out its global manufacturing and assembly
operations; (G) develop and introduce products, services and experiences on a
timely basis that the market accepts, that enable the company to generate
desired sales levels and that provide the desired financial returns, including
successfully implementing and executing plans to strengthen and grow its
leadership position in Grand America Touring, large Cruiser and Trike, and
growing its complementary businesses; (H) perform in a manner that enables the
company to benefit from market opportunities while competing against existing
and new competitors; (I) successfully appeal: (i) the revocation of the BOIs and
(ii) the denial of the company's application for temporary relief from the
effect of the revocation; (J) manage and predict the impact that new or adjusted
tariffs may have on the Company's ability to sell products internationally, and
the cost of raw materials and components;(K) prevent, detect, and
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
remediate any issues with its motorcycles or any issues associated with the
manufacturing processes to avoid delays in new model launches, recall campaigns,
regulatory agency investigations, increased warranty costs or litigation and
adverse effects on its reputation and brand strength, and carry out any product
programs or recalls within expected costs and timing; (L) manage the impact that
prices for and supply of used motorcycles may have on its business, including on
retail sales of new motorcycles; (M) realize expectations concerning market
demand for electric models, which will depend in part on the building of
necessary infrastructure; (N) successfully manage and reduce costs throughout
the business; (O) manage through changes in general economic and business
conditions, including changing capital, credit and retail markets, and the
changing political environment; (P) continue to develop the capabilities of its
distributors and dealers, effectively implement changes relating to its dealers
and distribution methods and manage the risks that its independent dealers may
have difficulty obtaining capital and managing through changing economic
conditions and consumer demand; (Q) continue to develop and maintain a
productive relationship with Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle Co., Ltd. and launch
related products in a timely manner; (R) maintain a productive relationship with
Hero MotoCorp as a distributor and licensee of the Harley-Davidson brand name in
India; (S) successfully maintain a manner in which to sell motorcycles in China
and the company's ASEAN countries that does not subject its motorcycles to
incremental tariffs; (T) manage its Thailand corporate and manufacturing
operation in a manner that allows the company to avail itself of preferential
free trade agreements and duty rates, and sufficiently lower prices of its
motorcycles in certain markets; (U) accurately estimate and adjust to
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity
prices; (V) retain and attract talented employees, and eliminate personnel
duplication, inefficiencies and complexity throughout the organization; (W)
prevent a cybersecurity breach involving consumer, employee, dealer, supplier,
or company data and respond to evolving regulatory requirements regarding data
security; (X) manage the credit quality, the loan servicing and collection
activities, and the recovery rates of the loan portfolio of Harley-Davidson
Financial Services ("HDFS"); (Y) adjust to tax reform, healthcare inflation and
reform and pension reform, and successfully estimate the impact of any such
reform on the company's business; (Z) manage through the effects inconsistent
and unpredictable weather patterns may have on retail sales of motorcycles; (AA)
implement and manage enterprise-wide information technology systems, including
systems at its manufacturing facilities; (BB) manage changes and prepare for
requirements in legislative and regulatory environments for its products,
services and operations; (CC) manage its exposure to product liability claims
and commercial or contractual disputes; (DD) continue to manage the
relationships and agreements that the company has with its labor unions to help
drive long-term competitiveness; (EE) achieve anticipated results with respect
to the company's recently launched pre-owned motorcycle program, Harley-Davidson
Certified, and the company's H-D1 Marketplace; and (FF) accurately predict the
margins of its Motorcycles and Related Products segment in light of, among other
things, tariffs, the cost associated with product development initiatives and
the company's complex global supply chain.
The company's operations, demand for its products, and its liquidity could be
adversely impacted by work stoppages, facility closures, strikes, natural
causes, widespread infectious disease, terrorism, or other factors. Other
factors are described in risk factors that the company has disclosed in
documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of
these risk factors are impacted by the current changing capital, credit and
retail markets and the company's ability to manage through inconsistent economic
conditions.
The company's ability to sell its motorcycles and related products and services
and to meet its financial expectations also depends on the ability of the
company's independent dealers to sell its motorcycles and related products and
services to retail customers. The company depends on the capability and
financial capacity of its independent dealers to develop and implement effective
retail sales plans to create demand for the motorcycles and related products and
services they purchase from the company. In addition, the company's independent
dealers and distributors may experience difficulties in operating their
businesses and selling Harley-Davidson motorcycles and related products and
services as a result of weather, economic conditions, the impact of COVID-19, or
other factors.
In recent years, HDFS has experienced historically low levels of retail credit
losses, but there is no assurance that this will continue. The company believes
that HDFS' retail credit losses may increase over time due to changing consumer
credit behavior, HDFS' efforts to increase prudently structured loan approvals
to sub-prime borrowers and the favorable impact of recent federal stimulus
payments, as well as actions that the company has taken and could take that
impact motorcycle values. Refer to "Risk Factors" under Item 1A of the company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the
SEC on February 23, 2021 and Part II, Item 1A of any subsequently filed
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, for a discussion of additional risk factors and a
more complete discussion of some of the cautionary statements noted above.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Edgar Online, source Glimpses