(Updates throughout.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Navistar International Corp. (NAV) swung to a fiscal
third-quarter loss as the truck and engine maker posted lower
revenue and margins while reporting its trucking segment swung to
an operating loss.
The company again lowered its fiscal-year earnings target to a
range of $2.55 to $2.85 from its already slashed June view of $2.80
to $3.10.
Chief Executive Daniel Ustian said despite the lowered guidance,
the company wouldn't implement drastic short-term cost-cutting
actions that would hurt operations in the long term.
Shares of Navistar fell 5% to $43.35 in after-hours trading
Wednesday as the results badly missed expectations. The stock has
more than doubled in value so far this year. Still, the stock has
lost about a quarter of its value from its 52-week high last
September.
Heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and big trucks have seen a
sales slump, but has picked up some of that slack from its military
business. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services last month
declined to cut the company's junk-level ratings, saying the
company was outperforming its peers and gaining market share.
For the quarter ended July 31, Navistar reported a loss of $12
million, or 16 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit
of $331 million, or $4.47 a share. The latest results included a
33-cent gain due to an asset acquisition of bankrupt recreational
vehicle manufacturer Monaco Coach Corp.
Revenue decreased 37% to $2.51 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 70 cents
a share on revenue of $2.67 billion.
Gross margin slumped to 15.4% from 22.8%.
By segment, the trucking segment swung to an operating loss of
$28 million from a year-earlier profit of $417 million, while the
engine business surged ninefold to $45 million. The parts business
saw its profit jump 82% to $93 million.
Navistar again affirmed its retail-sales forecast for Class 6-8
trucks and school buses in the U.S. and Canada, maintaining its
range of 165,000 to 185,000. It also expects 2010 industry volumes
to improve slightly to 175,000 to 215,000 units.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com