by Gary Mraz
Naysayers are quick to spout the dangers of motorcycling but friends, countrymen lend me your helmetless ears.
The psychological and emotional benefits of riding are real.
Motorcycle riding also has physical health benefits.
by Reuters from https://www.investing.com
U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) on Monday reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast for sales growth, as its focus on bigger and profitable touring bikes boost demand, sending its shares up more than 8%.
Since the middle of last year, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company, which has struggled to grow sales for the past several years, shifted its focus to big bikes, traditional markets such as the United States and Europe, and older and wealthier customers.
In February, the motorcycle maker unveiled a new turnaround plan that targets low double-digit earnings growth through 2025.
The company said its retail sales, a measure of demand at its dealerships, surged 30% to 32,800 motorcycles in North America in its first quarter.
Retail sales in Europe, Harley’s second biggest market outside the United States, slumped 36% to 4,900 motorcycles, due to the company’s decision to stop selling its smaller and less profitable Street or Sportster motorcycles and shipping delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company said lower sales incentives and a cut in its selling, general and administrative expense lifted its motorcycle business operating margin by over 10 points to 18.5%.
It now expects motorcycles business revenue to grow in the range of 30% to 35% in 2021, up from its prior estimate of between 20% and 25%.
Harley’s net income jumped over threefold to $259 million in the quarter ended March 28, from $70 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.68 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of 88 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company’s revenue rose to $1.42 billion from about $1.30 billion.
from http://www.healthnewsdigest.com
The results of a neurobiological study, today published in Brain Research, yielded pioneering scientific evidence revealing the potential mental and physical benefits of riding a motorcycle.
Researchers recorded participants’ brain activity and hormone levels before, during, and after motorcycling, driving a car, and resting. While riding a motorcycle, participants experienced increased sensory focus and resilience to distraction. Riding also produced an increase in adrenaline levels and heart rate, as well as a decrease in cortisol metrics – results often associated with light exercise and stress-reduction.
“Stress levels, especially among young adults, continue to rise, and people are exploring pathways to better their mental and physical health. Until recently, the technology to rigorously measure the impact of activities like motorcycling on the brain didn’t exist,” said Dr. Don Vaughn, the neuroscientist who led the research team. “The brain is an amazingly complex organ and it’s fascinating to rigorously investigate the physical and mental effects riders report.”
Results Highlights:
“While scientists have long-studied the relationship of brain and hormone responses to attention and stress, doing so in real-life conditions such as these is rare,” explained Professor and senior team member, Dr. Mark Cohen. “No lab experiment can duplicate the feelings that a motorcyclist would have on the open road.”
“The differences in participants’ neurological and physiological responses between riding and other measured activities were quite pronounced,” continued Dr. Vaughn. “This could be significant for mitigating everyday stresses.”
Research Overview
The research team monitored participants’ electrical brain activity and heart rate, as well as levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. The Harley-Davidson funded study, entitled “The mental and physical effects of riding a motorcycle” measured the biological and physiological responses of more than 50 experienced motorcyclists, using mobile EEG technology.
Study Disclaimer
Study of healthy, experienced adults, riding their own motorcycles on a designated 22-minute route, under normal conditions. Provided for informational purposes only. Sponsor makes no guarantee that you will experience similar results; actual effects will vary based on equipment, driving conditions and age/health/experience of rider. See research summary here. Views expressed and conclusions reached are solely those of the author, Dr. Don Vaughn, in his personal capacity, and do not necessarily represent the views of UCLA. Sponsor: Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
Harley-Davidson Inc. shares climbed after the struggling motorcycle maker’s new acting chief executive officer laid out plans to cut costs and complexity and focus on the company’s strengths.
The stock rose as much as 17% after the unveiling of a strategy dubbed “The Rewire,” which Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said could make Harley one of few manufacturers to grow profits in the coming years.
“It is clear to us that HOG will be less adventurous in terms of trying its hand at segments and markets where the brand faces extremely low chances of success with high up-front costs and high risks of brand atrophy that could threaten the company’s long-term survival,” Jonas, who rates the stock the equivalent of a buy, wrote in a report Tuesday.
Jochen Zeitz, a board member and former CEO of sporting-goods maker Puma SE, took over as acting CEO at the end of February. He’s dialing back his predecessor’s turnaround plan to focus on expanding U.S. ridership, iconic profitable bikes such as the Adventure Touring and Streetfighter models, and electric motorcycles. Those goals echo the demands of an activist investor, Impala Asset Management, that reached an agreement calling for Harley to add an independent director to its board later this year.
‘Achievable Plans’
Harley “has become accustomed to over-committing and under-delivering; we need to set achievable plans and realistic goals,” Zeitz said during the earnings call. “It is clear that our strategy needs to be refocused to better align with our capacity and capabilities and also updated given our new reality.”
Harley shares were up about 12% as of 11:53 a.m. in New York; the stock had plunged 49% this year through Monday’s close.
Zeitz was mum on the subject of a permanent CEO search, batting away analyst questions by saying he’s focused on steering the iconic motorcycle maker through the crisis.
The fallout from the coronavirus was swift: U.S. sales had been up 6.6% before the pandemic took hold in mid-March, but the drop during the first three months ended up being Harley’s biggest first-quarter fall since 2010. After that 16% plunge in retail sales, Harley is in all likelihood headed for its sixth straight annual decline.
Slashing Costs
Zeitz resisted giving a new financial forecast, saying it’s too early to see the full scope of the virus’s impact. But he’s slashing costs and borrowing money to ensure Harley can weather the storm.
The manufacturer said it will save $250 million this year by freezing hiring, reducing salaries, trimming capital expenditures and retiming product launches. It’s also halting share repurchases.
Harley announced it’s in talks with major U.S. banks to secure $1.3 billion in funding and expects to tap capital markets for more in the coming weeks after sales of its motorcycles declined in every market worldwide, including a 13th consecutive quarterly drop in the U.S.
John Olin, Harley’s chief financial officer, said he’s tightening underwriting standards and increasing loan-loss provisions at the company’s lending arm. He stepped up provisions by $36 million and wrote off $8.9 million in credit losses in the quarter. Harley has been granting payment deferrals for some customers.
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