Whirlpool Profits from Higher Prices--Update
January 27 2020 - 4:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford
Whirlpool Corp. said profit increased in the latest quarter
after it raised prices on some appliances and raw-material cost
increases cooled.
Still, the company said on Monday that demand for some of its
products was weak in the fourth quarter. Revenue declined more than
analysts expected, falling 4.9% to $5.38 billion from a year
earlier.
Whirlpool posted increased profitability in North America, its
largest market, as higher prices and cost reductions offset lower
volumes and higher costs.
Whirlpool illustrates the varied effects tariffs can have on
U.S. manufacturers. The Trump administration put tariffs on import
washing machines in 2018 after Whirlpool requested protection from
what it called unfair foreign competition. U.S. consumers have seen
prices rise for washing machines because of the tariffs, according
to researchers.
But separate tariffs on imported steel and aluminum pushed up
Whirlpool's costs in recent quarters.
Whirlpool also said earnings before interest, taxes and other
exclusions at its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
rose for the second straight quarter. The company has been working
to drive profitability at the unit by exiting some countries and
closing facilities.
Revenue for the company as a whole rose 1.2% after accounting
for currency movements and the lost revenue from the July sale of
its Embraco compressor business for about $1 billion.
Whirlpool posted a fourth-quarter profit of $288 million
compared with $170 million a year before. On an adjusted basis, the
company had a profit of $4.91 a share, up from $4.75 a year before
and above the $4.27 analysts expected.
The company expects to bring in a 2020 adjusted profit of $16.00
to $17.00 a share, in line with analyst expectations.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 27, 2020 16:41 ET (21:41 GMT)
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