Dana Sales Up, but Tax Charge Hurts Profits
Industrial parts supplier Dana Inc. stated a fourth-quarter net loss of $104 million, or 74 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $485 million, or $3.34, the year before.
Analysts expected a profit of $79 million, or 53 cents.
But the company was hit in the quarter with a charge of $186 million from the U.S. tax reform legislation enacted in December in addition to a $27 million charge on the divestiture of a business in Brazil. In contrast, Dana in the fourth quarter of 2016 gained a tax benefit of $501 million.
Sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 came in at $1.84 billion, meeting analysts’ expectations and topping $1.45 billion in sales a year ago.
Sales for the commercial vehicle division in the quarter tallied $355 million, up from $278 million a year ago. The light-vehicle division saw sales of $803 million, up from $694 million; and off highway reported sales of $414 million, up from $217 million. The power technologies group had sales of $265 million, up from $258 million.
Maumee, Ohio-based Dana supplies steer axles, steering shafts, driveshaft assemblies, engine gaskets, hub systems and a tire-pressure management system that features self-inflating tires.
For all of 2017, Dana’s net income was $111 million, or 71 cents, down from $640 million, or $4.36, the year before. Excluding the fourth-quarter nonrecurring tax and divestiture items, net income was $297 million last year and $214 million in 2016, according to the company, attributing the increase primarily to increased operating earnings associated with higher sales. Year-over-year net income also benefited from lower restructuring and interest expenses, the company said.
Revenue was $7.21 billion, compared with $5.83 billion the year before.
“Strong market demand and conversion of new business wins provided a combined organic increase in sales of approximately $800 million,” the company said.
The commercial vehicle unit reported sales of $1.4 billion, up from $1.3 billion; the light-vehicle group’s rose to $3.2 billion from $2.6 billion; and the off-highway segment saw sales of $1.5 billion, up from $900 million. Power technologies sales came in at $1.1 billion, compared with $1 billion in 2016.
The sales backlog for the period 2018-2020 was projected at $800 million.
