BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool Corp. has announced third-quarter net earnings of $79 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, compared to $87 million, or $1.15 per diluted share reported during the same period last year (a 9.2% drop).The third-quarter operating profit totaled $234 million compared with $189 million in the prior year. Results were favorably impacted by cost reduction and productivity initiatives and increased monetization of certain tax credits, the company says. These favorable factors were partially offset by higher materials costs and lower product price/mix.“As expected, we faced a challenging environment during the quarter which resulted in a significant slowing in sales growth compared to the first half of the year,” says Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corp. “Our ongoing focus on cost reductions, productivity and innovative product launches continues to enable us to adapt to changes in the macroeconomic environment.”Third-quarter North American sales of $2.4 billion decreased 3% from the prior year. Whirlpool Europe reported third-quarter sales of $827 million, an 8% decrease from the prior year.Things were better in Whirlpool Latin America (net sales of $1.1 billion, an increase of 13% from 2009) and Whirlpool Asia (third-quarter sales of $195 million, a 21% increase from 2009).For full-year 2010, Whirlpool Corp. expects reported earnings per diluted share between $7.80 and $8.30. On an adjusted basis, the company’s reported outlook is expected to be $9.56 to $10.06 per share.“As we have previously noted, we continue to see a volatile and rapidly changing global economy, which we expect to continue in near term. The actions we have put in place have allowed us to offset negative environmental factors and maintain our full-year adjusted earnings outlook,” Fettig says.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].