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Whirlpool meets Street
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July 17, 2000: 6:47 p.m. ET
Appliance maker's second-quarter profit matches estimates, but sales dip
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Whirlpool Corp., the No. 1 appliance maker in the United States, on Monday reported a second-quarter profit that rose 28 percent from a year ago, matching Wall Street expectations despite a narrow slump in sales.
But the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based manufacturer, known for its washers, dryers, and refrigerators, warned that its full year 2000 earnings would likely fall short of analysts forecasts due to slowing industry growth and competitive pricing.
Whirlpool reported second quarter net income of $121 million, or $1.66 a share, compared to $99 million, or $1.30 a share, one year ago. Wall Street analysts surveyed by First Call predicted a profit of $1.66 a share.
 Sales, hurt by currency translation, fell to $2.58 billion from $2.62 billion. Before the affects of currency translations, which reduced sales by $69 million, sales grew 1.5 percent in the quarter, the company said.
The strong earnings, which came despite the adverse condition in the appliance market, were spurred, in part, by Whirlpool's new product introductions, including the Whispure air purifier line, Conquest refrigerators and new Catalyst clothes washers.
"Our global operations delivered a solid performance for the latest quarter despite a challenging external environment, slowing appliance industry growth in North America and increases in material costs across our markets," said Whirlpool Chairman and CEO David Whitwam.
For the remainder of the year, the company, which markets products in more than 170 countries under brand names like Kenmore and KitchenAid, said it sees North American appliance industry unit shipments continuing to slow from the prior year level, but still growing about 3 percent for the full year.
Whirlpool's said its bottom line for the year, while expected to outpace last year's profit of $5.35 a share, could fall short of consensus estimates, which stand at $6.86 a share, according to First Call.
"We expect our full-year performance to be up 20-to-25 percent from last year's record levels," added Whitwam. "Although, due to the projected operating environment, we expect to fall modestly short of the current range of earnings estimates projected by Wall Street analysts."
Year-to-date profit up; Asia revenues strong
Year-to-date net earnings were $233 million, or $3.18 per diluted share, up 24 percent from the first-half 1999 core earnings of $187 million, or $2.45 per diluted share. Core earnings for 1999 excluded the first quarter Brazilian currency devaluation. Reported 1999 first half earnings were $127 million, or $1.66 per diluted share.
 Sales for the first two quarters of the year totaled $5.2 billion, up 1.4 percent from the first six months of 1999, the company said.
The company noted that its Whirlpool Asia unit again reported strong improvements in revenue, unit shipments and operating profit, driven by sales growth in India, China and the Asia Pacific countries. The company continues to expect appliance industry unit shipments in its Asian region to grow between 8 and 10 percent for the full year.
Quarterly shipments rose in both Whirlpool Latin America and Whirlpool Europe. But while revenues slumped in both regions, bruised in part by currency translation.
Whirlpool's quarterly results were released after the closing bell. Its shares ended the regular trading session at 54-1/16, up 13/16 on the New York Stock exchange. 
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Whirlpool
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