Shimano 2024 sales down 5%; net income up 25%

 TOKYO (BRAIN) — Shimano’s sales last year amounted to 451 billion yen ($2.94 billion), down 4.9% from the year before. Operating income and ordinary income also were down while net income was up 25%.

 In the company’s bike division, net sales were down 5.2% to 345 billion yen and operating income was down 17%. 

While the revenue figure was down from 2023, and well below its peak in 2022, the revenue is about 24% above 2019, the last year before the COVID pandemic. The 24% increase is about even with inflation over those years. 

 Shimano’s net sales in North America grew in 2024, from 44.6 billion yen in 2023 to 46.9 billion yen in 2024. 

While the strong interest in bicycles continued as a long-term trend, retail sales of completed bicycles were weak and market inventories remained high.

Overseas, in the European market, retail sales of completed bicycles softened due to unfavorable weather conditions in early spring, and market inventories remained at a high level.

In the North American market, although interest in bicycles was firm, retail sales of completed bicycles remained weak and market inventories were somewhat high.

In the Asian, Oceanian and Central and South American markets, the level of market inventories started to show signs of improvement. On the other hand, personal consumption continued to be sluggish and retail sales of completed bicycles remained weak. In the Chinese market, while the popularity of cycling as a sport continued to be high, the shipping volume of completed bicycles to the market increased in the end of the season, and market inventories remained high.

In the Japanese market, retail sales were sluggish as affected by the soaring price of completed bicycles, and market inventories remained somewhat high.

Under these market conditions, the Shimano Group received a favorable reception for its products, including SHIMANO 105, a component for road bikes, and a gravel-specific component SHIMANO GRX.

The company said it expects continued “downward pressure on the economy” due to rising resource prices, supply chain disruptions and “changes in government policies resulting from the national elections conducted across the globe in 2024.”

It forecasts that net sales will increase 4.2% in 2025 to 470 billion yen and operating income will increase 7.6%. Within that company-wide forecast, it predicts its bike business will grow to a total of 360 billion yen this year, up from the 345 billion yen recorded in 2024.