Whirlpool Corp. said third-quarter earnings increased nearly 13% to $114 million, or $1.66 a share, compared with $101 million, or $1.50 a share, in the same period a year ago, despite rising material and petroleum costs that hurt results.
The Benton Harbor-based maker of major home appliances, which is acquiring Maytag Corp., saw revenue for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 increase 8.5% to $3.59 billion, compared with $3.32 billion in the same period a year ago. A consensus estimate of Wall Street estimates anticipated third-quarter earnings of $1.62 a share, according to a Thomson Financial survey.
Whirlpool, the nation’s largest appliance maker and the eighth-biggest publicly traded company in Michigan, said sales were up in North America, Europe and Latin America. In August, Whirlpool agreed to purchase Newton, Iowa-based Maytag in a cash and stock deal valued at $1.7 billion. The deal followed a three-week odyssey of bids and counter bids between Whirlpool and Ripplewood Holdings Inc., a New York investment firm.
The proposed acquisition of Maytag is expected to be completed early next year pending federal regulatory approval. Sales rose 9% to $3.6 billion from $3.32 billion. Whirlpool shares rose $1.14 to close at $74.37 on the New York Stock Exchange. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $54.53 to $85.70. “Our third-quarter operating profit, which included approximately $110 million of higher material and oil-related costs, improved versus last year,” Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig said in a statement. “The combination of actions we began implementing last year to address the significantly higher material and oil-related cost environment have proven to be effective.”
For the remainder of the year, Whirlpool officials stood fast with their previously released yearly earnings guidance of $5.90 to $6.10 a share.
“We expect continued positive year-over-year earnings expansion during the fourth quarter,” Fettig said. But he added, “we continue to expect full-year material and oil-related costs to be at the high end of our $500-to-$550 million range.”
From Freep
