«We are pleased with our revenue growth and free cash flow improvement – said Marc Bitzer, chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation – but are not satisfied with our operating margins, which were impacted by raw material inflation, unfavorable price/mix and slow progress on our European integration. Thus, we are implementing strong actions to deliver our long-term goals, including recently-announced global cost-based price increases and a fixed cost reduction initiative.»
During the third-quarter of the year Whirlpool net sales were 5.4 billion dollar, compared to 5.2 billion in the same period of 2016, an increase of more than 3 percent. Excluding the impact of currency, sales increased 2 percent. Third-quarter GAAP operating profit totaled 331 million dollar, or 6.1 percent of sales, compared to 374 million, or 7.1 percent of sales, in the same prior-year period. Third-quarter ongoing operating profit totaled 376 million dollar, or 6.9 percent of sales, compared to 417 million, or 7.9 percent of sales, in the same prior-year period. On a GAAP and ongoing basis, cost productivity and unit volume growth were more than offset by the unfavorable impacts of raw material inflation and product price/mix.
