Whirlpool Guides to Full-Year Loss as Q3 Sales Miss and Margins Halve
WHR is trading near its 52-week low of $25.73 (5.9% below the low) on elevated volume (3.2× avg).
Summary
Whirlpool now expects a full-year loss of $1.30 per share, a sharp reversal from the $7 adjusted EPS it forecast in January, and shares fell 8% in aftermarket trading. Q3 net sales of $3.7 billion missed the $3.9 billion consensus and fell from $4 billion a year earlier, while the adjusted loss of 21 cents a share badly missed the 73 cents profit analysts expected. Ongoing EBIT margin dropped to 2.6% from 4.5%, with raw material, fuel and logistics costs eating the benefit of job cuts, plant closures and distribution consolidation, and the quarter also carried a $124 million impairment on its India investment. Management says the cost savings mostly land next year, and it is pushing a 7% North America price increase into the fourth quarter. The company suspended its dividend earlier this year and is prioritizing debt reduction, targeting under $4.5 billion by year-end from $6.5 billion last year.
At the time of this announcement, WHR was trading at $24.21 on NYSE in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.7B. The 52-week trading range was $25.73 to $94.82. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.