Whirlpool profit drops 76%
Whirlpool Corp., the world’s biggest appliance maker, reported lower quarterly profit Monday as sales fell worldwide, and it posted an operating loss in North America, its biggest market.
The company, which has cut thousands of jobs in the past year, said it was taking additional moves to reduce costs, and it forecast lower earnings for 2009.
Fourth-quarter profit fell 76% to $44 million, or 60 cents a diluted share, from $187 million, or $2.38 a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected profit of 78 cents a share. Whirlpool cited restructuring charges and other one-time items, and it was not immediately clear whether the Wall Street outlook compared directly with the result, Reuters Estimates said.
Quarterly sales fell 19% to $4.3 billion.
In North America, sales fell 18% to $2.5 billion as industrywide shipments of appliances dropped about 10%. Whirlpool said it expected U.S. industry shipments, an important gauge of sales, to fall about 10% this year.
The North American unit had an operating loss of $20 million, against a year-earlier profit of $175 million, hurt by the lower sales, product recall costs and higher material and oil expenses payday loan lenders.
Fourth-quarter sales fell 16% in Europe, 26% in Latin America and 10% in Asia.
The company, whose debt ratings have been downgraded recently, said it had tapped into a $2.2 billion credit facility during the fourth quarter and was in full compliance with bank covenants. But it added that it had begun talks with banks to "seek additional flexibility within its capital structure."
Whirlpool (WHR, Fortune 500) said it expected 2009 profit of $3 to $4 a share from continuing operations, down from $5.50 for 2008.
Analysts have forecast profit of $4.07 a share for this year, according to Reuters Estimates.
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