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March 12, 2007 – Yamaha reaches new highs

Even with decreased ATV sales, reduced North American motorcycle sales and an increase in raw material costs, Yamaha Motor Co. registered highs for both sales and profits in its recent fiscal year.
Increased motorcycle revenue was certainly one reason for that as Yamaha reported its overall new cycle sales were up more than 20 percent to 914.8 billion yen ($7.5 billion) in its fiscal year, which ended Dec. 31, compared with the previous year.
Motorcycle sales rose highest in Latin America and in the Far East.
The company’s North American cycle sales fell 7 percent compared to the previous year. (Numbers for the United States were not available.) The North America market represents 4.6 percent of the company’s overall motorcycle sales. The company does expect its North American bike sales to spike back up, predicting a 4 percent increase for 2007.
Yamaha also reported a motorcycle sales drop in Europe, which was down 3.3 percent compared to the past fiscal year. However, Asia sales, by far the largest segment for Yamaha, increased nearly 20 percent.
Overall, Yamaha reported its net sales, in comparison to its previous fiscal year, were up 15 percent to 1,582 billion yen ($13 billion). Its net income of 77.2 billion yen ($638 million) rose nearly 21 percent compared to the previous year.
Other findings that Yamaha reported include:

  • Although its overall ATV sales were down, its power product sales were up more than 10 percent to 250.4 billion yen ($2 billion). Leading that increase during the last fiscal year was an expansion of U.S. sales for the company’s side-by-side vehicles.
  • Marine product sales amounted to 266.5 billion yen ($2.2 billion), up 6.7 percent from the previous year, reflecting favorable sales of personal watercraft in the United States.
  • Hikes in raw material prices totaled 14 billion yen ($115 million) above the previous year and an increase in research and development expenses totaled 4.7 billion yen ($38 million).
    Even in spite of those increases, Yamaha said it achieved all its numerical targets outlined in its three-year management plan one year ahead of schedule.
    Looking ahead to its fiscal year 2007, the company expects its net sales to grow to 1,650 billion yen ($13.6 billion) and its net income to rise to 78 billion yen ($644 million).
    The expected 4.3 percent increase in net sales would be the ninth consecutive year of growth in that category. Yamaha said the forecasts are based on the assumption that the U.S. dollar will trade at 114 yen during the period (the same as the previous year), and the Euro at 148 yen (a depreciation of seven yen from the previous year).

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