OSAKA, Japan (BRAIN) — Shimano is sticking to its original guidance for net sales and operating income for the rest of the year after reporting a 15.6% year-over-year increase in revenue in its bike division for the first quarter.
The company said "strong interest in bicycles" continued globally in the quarter, although market inventories remained high. In North America, it said complete bike sales were weak but market inventories had returned to normal.
Sales in the quarter in the bike division were 87,972 million yen ($618 million). Operating income increased 38.5% to 14,503 million yen.
The company is forecasting first half net sales of 228,000 million yen, up from 217,000 million yen recorded in the first half last year. It revised its ordinary income forecast down 16% for the half due to the weakening for the yen against the dollar.
Shimano's financial report made no direct mention of tariffs or the developing trade dispute between the U.S. and China, only saying "In the U.S., although consumer confidence declined due to changes in trade policies, the economy remained strong on the back of a stable employment environment."
Across its divisions, Shimano's company-wide sales in the quarter were up 12.9% to 113,539 million yen. Operating income increased 20.3% to 16,142 million yen, ordinary income decreased 46.6% to 15,404 million yen, and net income decreased 58.7% to 9,786 million yen.
