Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc. fell more than 7% in premarket trade on Tuesday after the motorcycle company reported down fourth-quarter profit that declined sharply. Harley-Davidson reported net income of $8.3 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with $47.2 million, or 27 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago. The company said net income and per-share earnings were adversely impacted by a $53.1 million income tax charge related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as a $29.4 million charge for product recall. FactSet’s earnings consensus was 45 cents per share. The company reported revenue was $1.05 billion, up from $933.02 million during the same period a year ago, and just above FactSet’s $1.03 billion consensus. Harley-Davidson said that worldwide retail motorcycle sales declined 9.6% in the fourth quarter, while the U.S. sales were down 11.1%. Harley-Davidson is planning to restructure and consolidate some operations, incurring costs in the range of $170 million to $200 million over the next two years. The company expects motorcycle shipments for the full year 2018 to be 231,000 to 236,000. FactSet’s consensus on shipments is 243,842. Shares of Harley-Davidson are down roughly 5% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 25% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 32%.
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