Fitch affirms Harley-Davidson

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings for Harley-Davidson, Inc. and its Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. subsidiary at A.

In addition, the agency affirmed the senior unsecured ratings of Harley-Davidson, Harley-Davidson Financial and Harley-Davidson Funding Corp. at A and Harley-Davidson Financial’ short-term issuer default rating and commercial paper ratings at F1.

The outlooks are stable.

Fitch said the ratings continue to reflect Harley-Davidson's strong credit profile, including low motor company leverage and relatively strong free cash flow (FCF), despite continued soft motorcycle market conditions in North America and several key global markets.

“The company's ratings are also supported by its strong brand recognition, solid liquidity position, high margins and well-funded pension plans,” the agency said in a news release.

“Fitch expects the combination of strong FCF and low leverage will provide the company with significant financial flexibility as it restructures its U.S. manufacturing operations to manage what is expected to be a lower reset in heavyweight motorcycle demand over the intermediate-term.”

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