BENTON HARBOR — Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR), the world’s largest appliance maker, reported net income of $210 mllion or $3.22 a share in the third quarter of 2018, down from $276 million or $3.72 a share in the same quarter of 2017.
Revenue was $5.33 billion, down from $5.42 billion a year earlier. Excluding the effects of currency, sales rose 1.5 percent.
For the nine months, the company posted a loss of $353 million or $5.18 a share, vs. net income of $618 million or $8.23 a share a year earlier. Revenue was $15.38 billion, down from $15.55 billion a year earlier. The reason for the loss was a $747 million non-cash impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets.
The company also posted an “ongoing earnings” per share figure of $4.55, up from $3.83 a year earlier.
“Very impressive results in North America and a favorable tax rate allowed us to deliver our highest quarterly ongoing EPS in our long history, demonstrating our ability to overcome the numerous external challenges we have been facing,” said Marc Bitzer, Whirlpool CEO. “While our EMEA performance has been disappointing, our progress on restoring volume and the new actions to refocus and right-size our business give us confidence that we can turn around the region.”
For the quarter, the company said raw material inflation, higher freight costs and lower sales more than offset improvements in restructuring benefits and product price and mix favorability.
Also during the quarter, Whirlpool made a voluntary contribution of approximately $350 million to lower its long-term pension funding obligation. This contribution, combined with additional tax planning, resulted in a lower effective tax rate for the quarter.
Whirlpool North America reported third-quarter net sales of $3 billion, compared to $2.9 billion in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales increased 5.3 percent. The region reported third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of $343 million, compared to $336 million in the same prior-year period.
Whirlpool Europe, Middle East and Africa reported third-quarter net sales of $1.1 billion, compared to $1.3 billion in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales decreased 7.6 percent. The region reported a loss before interest and taxes of $39 million, compared to a loss of $2 million a year earlier.
Whirlpool Latin America reported third-quarter net sales of $878 million, compared to $966 million in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales increased 1.8 percent. The region reported third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of $49 million, down from $55 million a year earlier.
Whirlpool Asia reported third-quarter net sales of $339 million, down from $373 million in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales decreased 4.3 percent. The region reported third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of $13 million, up from $9 million in the same prior-year period.
Whirlpool has 92,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and research centers worldwide. It markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names.
For more information, visit the investors section of whirlpoolcorp.com.