TOKYO (BRAIN) — After a rocky start, Shimano managed a 2.7% increase in revenues last year in its bike division, and an 18% increase in operating income in its bike business.
Bike-related sales for the Japanese component giant totaled 297.8 billion yen ($2.85 billion) up from 290 billion yen in 2019. Bicycle-related sales accounted for 79% of Shimano’s business, with fishing tackle accounting for most of the rest.
In an earnings summary released Tuesday, Shimano made little mention of the industry’s continued supply chain challenges or its role in those challenges. It did note that “trends of shortages in both distributor inventories and retail inventories persisted” throughout 2020.
Shimano is forecasting a 20.5% increase in net sales for the full 2021. Compared with last year, much of the increase will happen in the first half, the company predicts. Last year in the first half, sales were down 15% to 123 billion yen. For 2021, Shimano is forecasting first-half sales of 237.7 billion yen, a 48% increase.
Shimano said it expects interest in outdoor leisure activities to continue in 2021. However it noted some regional trouble spots: consumer sentiment in Japan, it said, remains affected by COVID-19 infection rates and concern about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. And in the U.S., it said, “the Biden administration came to power, and additional financial support by the government is expected. However, social instability due to political division may discourage economic recovery.”
Company-wide, Shimano’s net sales for 2020 were up 4.1% to 378 billion yen; operating income company-wide was up 21.6% to 82.7 billion yen. Earnings per share for the year were 684.71 yen, up from 559.15 yen in 2019.
