Navistar Loses $62 Million in Its Fiscal First Quarter
The quarterly net loss for truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. widened to $62 million, or 76 cents a share, for the three months ended Jan. 31, with sales, particularly in the anemic North American new truck sales market, causing most of the problems.
In the company’s fiscal first quarter a year ago, the Lisle, Illinois-based original equipment manufacturer lost $33 million, or 40 cents. Quarterly sales declined by 5.8% over that time to $1.66 billion from $1.76 billion, the company said in its March 7 earnings statement.
Among the company’s four major divisions, parts remained profitable at a similar level to a year ago, the loss at global operations narrowed by more than two-thirds and profits at financial services declined by 50% but remained in the black.
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At the truck division, though, sales declined by 5.9% to $1.02 billion for the quarter just ended from $1.08 billion a year ago. The quarterly operating loss accelerated to $69 million from $51 million.
The company’s core market is Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada.
“This was primarily driven by market pressures, the impact of lower core market volumes, and a decrease in other income,” the company’s earnings statement said.
Chairman and CEO Troy Clarke remained optimistic, saying that when industrywide truck sales return, perhaps as soon as the second half of this year, so too, will Navistar.
“Our results are on track with our plan for the year, and demonstrate our ability to effectively manage costs at a time of persistent Class 8 industry headwinds,” Clarke said.
“Our order share continues to outpace our market share, which confirms our confidence in the retail share improvement to come. At the same time, we are rolling out a steady stream of new product introductions that are helping us generate new sales opportunities, and position us to take advantage of the anticipated Class 8 rebound in the second half,” he added.
The earnings report came a week after the company announced it has completed its alliance agreement with Volkswagen’s Truck & Bus division, and unveiled its new 12.4-liter A26 engine for highway tractors.
In its 21 most recent fiscal quarters, the company has posted positive net income twice: the three month periods ended April 30, 2016, and July 31, 2012.
