OSAKA, Japan (BRAIN) — Shimano's net sales were up nearly 14 percent in 2015, to 378 billion yen ($3.3 billion). Operating income also increased, by nearly 30 percent, to 85.1 billion yen.
The company said consumers in Europe and the U.S. had more disposible income in 2015 in part due to lower gas prices. European sales volume was lower than the prior year, but a higher cost mix, including e-bikes, kept the total sales figures robust.
Shimano is taking a cautious approach to 2016, forecasting an 8 percent decline.
Sales in China were down, but sales in Southeast Asia and South America were up.
"In Europe, although sales volume was lower than for the previous year when sales were brisk thanks to good weather, retail sales amount exceeded the previous year’s level with brisk sales of high-end models centering on e-bike. In North America, demand was little affected by the weather, and retail sales were robust. While distributor inventories in Europe remained virtually at the appropriate level, those in North America were at a somewhat high level," the company said.
The company is taking a cautious approach to 2016, forecasting an 8 percent decline in full-year sales, to 350 billion yen. The company is worried about the possible depreciation of emerging market currencies and stock market instability in the U.S. and Europe, the continued decline in the Chinese economy, and the effects of China's slowdown on the Japanese economy. Shimano also said that some production originally scheduled for the first half of 2016 had been moved forward to the second half of 2015. So the net sales of that inventory was recorded last year and will be absent from the 2016 numbers.
