Maytag Corp. (MYG) expects appliance industry sales this year to top 2003’s level as first-quarter sales exceeded expectations, executives said on Friday.
“First-quarter industry sales have been considerably stronger than we expected,” Bill Beer, president of Maytag’s major appliance division, told Reuters at a kitchen and bath industry trade show in Chicago.
Beer said the company, whose brands include Jenn-Air, Amana and Jade, saw industry sales growth in the low-double-digit range during the quarter. Though it is unlikely growth will continue at that rate, “my projection is it will undoubtedly be another record year for the major appliance industry,” he said.
“To see (sales rise) closer to mid-single digits might certainly be doable,” Beer added.
He also said Maytag, which saw earnings fall last year as consumers migrated from its Hoover vacuums to cheaper models, was gaining market share following the launch of products such as the $1,200 Neptune Drying Center, which combines a tumble dryer on bottom with a top compartment where clothes can lie flat or hang to dry.
George Moore, Maytag’s chief financial officer, said a new labor contract at Hoover would help improve its cost position. Hoover’s sales and profits slumped throughout last year.
But even though Hoover is improving, “it will be toward the midpoint this year that we’ll start being up against comps (comparable sales) that will allow us growth over where we were last year,” Moore said.
From CBS Market Watch