OSAKA, Japan (BRAIN) — Shimano reported Tuesday that its first-half sales in its bicycle products division were down 14.6% from the same period last year, to 123 billion yen ($1.2 billion); operating income in the segment was down 19.7%.
The company noted that demand for bikes "rapidly increased" when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Europe, North America and China, and said that distributor bike inventories were low starting in May. It said demand for bikes was "solid" in South America, but weak in its home market due to continued Japanese government restrictions on outdoor recreation.
In a May interview with Bloomberg News, Shimano CEO Yozo Shimano acknowledged that the company had temporarily closed factories in Singapore and Malaysia. But the first-half report made no mention of slowdowns or shutdowns at Shimano's factories or at bike factories due to the virus.
Shimano did not release earnings forecasts in its last quarterly report, due to the uncertainty about the virus. However, in its first-half report, the company forecast net sales for the full fiscal year of 350 billion yen, which would be a 4% decline over its 2019 fiscal year sales. It forecast operating income of 63.5 billion yen, down from 68 billion yen last year.
For the 2020 first half, sales company-wide were 160 billion yen, down 12% from the period last year.
