The Piaggio Group is reporting consolidated net sales of 302 million euro for its first quarter of 2015 ended March 31st - up by 9 percent compared to the 276.8 €/million recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2014.
The company reports revenue growth for all its business sectors (two-wheelers, commercial vehicles, spare parts and accessories) and for all the main regions it sells to (EMEA, India, Asia Pacific).
Pointing to performance improvements in the scooter sector for the Vespa brand and the Piaggio Mp3 three-wheel scooter, Piaggio also says that it has seen higher motorcycle sales volumes for Aprilia and Moto Guzzi.
The company recorded total vehicle shipments of 121,000 vehicles worldwide (123,900 in the first quarter of 2014) and says that, in revenue terms, the slight decrease in sales volumes was offset by a shift in the product mix towards premium products with higher value per unit.
In the two-wheeler sector, the Group shipped 74,200 vehicles (down from the 76,500 shipped in the first quarter of 2014) but net sales revenue was up by +4.3 percent at 204.1 million euro (195.7 million euro in the year-earlier period). This includes spare parts and accessories, which generated revenue of 29 million euro, an improvement of 13.5% from the first quarter of 2014.
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| Piaggio say that the 6.1 percent growth to 2,200 units seen at Moto Guzzi in the first quarter should be boosted for the rest of the year with the second quarter introduction of the Audace and the Eldorado 1400cc seen here |
All the main geographical areas where the Piaggio Group operates in the two-wheeler sector reported net sales growth, assisted by a no longer adverse exchange-rate effect, a feature of the entire first half of 2014. Revenue amounted to 139.8 million euro in the EMEA area (+2.2% from the year-earlier period), 43.7 million euro in Asia Pacific (+17.1%) and 5.7 million euro in India (+43.2%).
In the scooter segment, the Vespa brand performed well, with revenue growth of 14.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2014. Growth was also reported for the Piaggio Mp3 - revenue for the Group's three-wheel scooter range rose by 12.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from the year-earlier period.
In terms of motorcycles, growth was reported for the Aprilia brand (approximately 3,450 shipments in the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 3.4 percent from the year-earlier period) and for the Moto Guzzi brand with approximately 2,200 shipments, an increase of 6.1 percent.
The company says that from the second quarter of 2015 onwards both brands will benefit from the launch of new products - the new Aprilia RSV4 and Tuono 1100 and for the Moto Guzzi brand the Audace and the Eldorado 1400cc.
In their Commercial Vehicles sector, 46,800 vehicles were shipped (47,500 in the year-earlier period) for net sales of 97.9 million euro, an increase of 20.8 percent from 81.1 million euro in the year-earlier period.
