Navistar's Loss Widens on Lower Sales
Navistar International Corp. said its loss expanded in its fiscal first quarter as sales volumes fell.
Navistar reported a net loss of $248 million, or $3.05 a share, in the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $123 million, or $1.53, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was $2.2 billion, down from $2.6 billion a year earlier.
The sales decreases were primarily due to Navistar shifting its medium-duty engines to selective catalytic reduction for emissions control, as well as lower military vehicle sales, the company said March 5.
“We signaled that this would be a tough quarter due to our midrange product transition, the ongoing reduced sales in our military business, and because the first quarter, historically, represents the weakest operational period of the year for us,” Navistar CEO Troy Clarke said in a statement. “Clearly, we have more hard work to do to rebuild our market share and further reduce our costs, but we continue to make progress on our Drive to Deliver, and we feel we’re off to a solid start in 2014.”
The first-quarter results included a $21 million loss from foreign exchange rate fluctuations and $18 million in asset impairment charges, Navistar said.
Navistar is still suffering from its initial decision to forgo SCR and rely entirely on exhaust gas recirculation to meet 2010 United States emissions standards. It decided in 2012 to switch course after it could not produce a compliant EGR engine, switching its heavy-duty engines to SCR first, followed by smaller engines.
Navistar recently announced that it will close its Huntsville, Ala., midrange engine plant and consolidate operations to an Illinois plant. It will also implement SCR for its high horsepower inline 6-cylinder engine platforms.
“These actions will help us deliver on one of our biggest opportunities — reclaiming our market position in medium-duty and bus, which historically have been important businesses for us and our dealers,” Clarke said.
