Consumer Goods

Return to Article

Whirlpool Net Falls 28% on Softer Demand

The Associated Press

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Home appliance maker Whirlpool said its first-quarter profit fell 28% on softening consumer demand and the stronger dollar, but results beat Wall Street's expectations.

Earnings slid to $68 million, or 91 cents a share, down from $94 million, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier.

Earnings were boosted by cost-reduction and productivity initiatives, Whirlpool said, but those gains were partially offset by higher material costs and substantially lower global sales and production volumes.

Whirlpool, whose brands include Maytag and KitchenAid, said sales dropped 23% to $3.57 billion because its products were more expensive to overseas customers.

Thomson Reuters said its survey of five analysts showed they expected, on average, a loss of 18 cents a share on sales of $3.95 billion. The analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items and the earnings estimates ranged from a profit of 19 cents to a loss of 68 cents.

Whirlpool maintained its outlook for a 2009 profit of $3 to $4 a share, above analysts' expectations for full-year earnings of $2.78 a share.

The company said it expects 2009 U.S. industry unit shipments to decline 10% to 12% from 2008 levels, compared with its previous estimate of a 10% decline.

Whirtlpool reported lower net sales in each of its regions. Whirlpool North America's sales of $2.1 billion were down 20% from the first quarter of 2008.