Lawrence Hund
Analyst · Patrick Archambault with Goldman Sachs
Thanks, John, and good morning. During the fourth quarter, HDFS originated $306 million in retail motorcycles levels, up 7.7% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to higher used motorcycle loan originations. For the full year, HDFS originated $1.8 billion in retail motorcycle loans, down 7.9% compared to last year, primarily due to lower retail sales of new motorcycles in the U.S. For the full year, 80% to 85% of our new loan originations were prime compared to our historical experience of approximately 75% prior to significant underwriting adjustments that were made in January of 2009. At year-end, over 50% of the total portfolio was comprised of loans originated post underwriting changes. HDFS's retail market share of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold in the U.S. was 47.9% for the full year of 2010, down approximately 1% compared to last year. Regarding competition, we continue to see increased activity particularly in the primary customer segment. At the end of the fourth quarter, of the approximately $6.2 billion of net finance receivables, $5.4 billion were retail and $814 million were wholesale. Now moving on to delinquencies and losses on Slide 19. We continue to see good credit performance on loans originated after the underwriting adjustments were made in 2009. The 30-day delinquency rate for managed retail motorcycle loans at December 31, 2010, was 5.07%, an improvement of 144 basis points compared to last year. Annual retail credit losses improved by 75 basis points to 2.11% for 2010, driven by lower frequency of loss, the impact of changes in underwriting and improvements in the recovery values of repossessed motorcycles. We are pleased with the progress at HDFS in 2010. During the year, we maintained a strong liquidity position, reduced our cost of funds and returned to profitability. We remained focused on enabling retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles while providing an appropriate return to Harley-Davidson Inc. And I'm also pleased to report that last week, HDFS paid $125 million dividend to Harley-Davidson Inc. So in conclusion, we are encouraged by the forward momentum in HDFS, and I believe our employees have done a fantastic job managing the business in a difficult environment. So we remain cautious, given the continuing economic challenges with unemployment at over 9%, and as our book of loans declines as a result of lower wholesale shipments and retail sales in North America over the last couple of years. Now let me turn it back to John.