Net earnings increased in the third quarter of 2016 for Whirlpool Corporation: the company announced $238 million compared to $235 million reported for the third quarter of 2015. Net sales were $5.2 billion, compared to $5.3 billion in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales increased slightly. Third-quarter operating profit totaled $370 million, or 7 percent of sales, compared to $329 million, or 6.2 percent of sales, in the same prior-year period. “In a challenging external environment, we delivered record third-quarter ongoing earnings per share by leveraging our portfolio of leading brands, innovative new products and a continued focus on cost productivity. The fundamentals of our business are strong, and as a result of our operational execution we have delivered earnings per share growth of 18 percent year-to-date – said Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation -. We remain focused on creating value for our shareholders and returning cash through our share repurchase and dividend programs”. Considering the results in the different areas, Whirlpool North America reported third-quarter net sales of $2.9 billion, compared to $2.8 billion in the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of currency, sales increased 3 percent. Whirlpool Emea registered net sales of $1.3 billion (compared to $1.5 billion), while the company in Latin America reported net sales of $800 million (compared to $751 million). Finally, Whirlpool Asia reached net sales of $338 million compared to $346 million in the same prior-year period. “We are pleased with strong revenue growth, market share gains and ongoing margin expansion in North America and Latin America that overcame industry softness and currency volatility – said Marc Bitzer, president and chief operating officer of Whirlpool Corporation -. In Europe, the U.K. environment remains challenging, but we continue to execute brand and product transitions while adjusting our production levels to right-size our inventory. In Asia, we remain focused on deploying our products across our new, larger distribution network”.
