Harley-Davidson Financial Chief To Also Lead Financial Services Unit
January 08 2009 - 6:00PM
Dow Jones News
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) Chief Financial Officer Tom Bergmann
will also serve as interim president of the company's financial
services unit while the maker of iconic motorcycles searches for
someone to fill that job.
Effective immediately, Bergmann succeeds Sy Naqvi, who resigned.
Naqvi held that post since February 2007.
"In the current economic environment, HDFS is an especially
important priority for us, and Tom has been highly involved in
guiding that business," said Chief Executive Jim Ziemer.
Harley-Davidson, like many other manufacturers, relies heavily
on its in-house financing unit to close sales. In an effort to
contend with rising delinquencies, the unit, which provides loans
for more than half of all Harleys sold and also provides dealer
financing, recently raised costs on its consumer loans as much as
one percentage point and has improved its origination and
collection capabilities amid the recent credit crunch.
The Milwaukee company has been stung by slumping sales as the
recession deepened in the U.S. and abroad.
The deteriorating performance at the financing unit played a big
role in the overall 37% decline in Harley-Davidson's net profit in
the third quarter. For 2009, the company has estimated that the
financing unit has about $1.5 billion in net cash flow needs, which
it hopes to fund through a combination of unsecured debt and
asset-backed securitization.
Before joining Harley-Davidson as financial chief in 2006,
Bergmann was the chief executive of USG Corp. (USG), a
transportation and logistics company.
Harley-Davidson's shares were at $17.30, down 1.6%, in
after-hours trading.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com
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