Whirlpool Corporation announced third-quarter GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net earnings of $230 million, or $2.88 per diluted share, compared to $196 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, reported for the same prior-year period. Ongoing business earnings per diluted share increased to $3.04, compared to $2.72 in the same prior-year period. Net sales in the third quarter were $4.8 billion compared to $4.7 billion during the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of both foreign currency and Brazilian (BEFIEX) tax credits, sales increased 4 percent. “Through continued investments in our industry leading brands and innovative new products, along with disciplined management of our operations, we have delivered another quarter of revenue growth, margin expansion and record earnings”, said Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation. “With the recent closings of our acquisitions of majority stakes in Indesit and Hefei Sanyo, we are committed to creating significant value for our shareholders by integrating our technology leadership and broad offering of products to benefit consumers around the globe”. Third-quarter GAAP operating profit totaled $335 million, compared to $313 million in the same prior-year period. Ongoing business operating profit totaled $387 million, or 8.0 percent of sales, compared to $353 million, or 7.6 percent of sales, in the same prior-year period. Revenue growth, ongoing cost productivity and the benefit of cost and capacity-reduction initiatives were partially offset by higher material costs and unfavorable currency.
As regards to different regions, Whirlpool North America reported third-quarter net sales of $2.8 billion compared to $2.6 billion in the same prior-year period, an increase of 6.3 percent. Whirlpool EMEA reported net sales of $785 million compared to $778 million in the third quarter of 2013 and Whirlpool Latin America registered net sales of $1.1 billion ($1.1 billion in the Q3 2013). Finally, Whirlpool Asia achieved third-quarter net sales of $157 million compared to $197 million in the same prior-year period.
