Meeting with Wall Street analysts for their quarterly conference call, Whirlpool Corporation leaders have their focus firmly on the future, predicting even better performance ahead.
“We are announcing our increased long-term
value creation targets as well as increasing
our earnings per share guidance to
~$26.25,” said Marc Bitzer, chairman and
chief executive officer of Whirlpool
Corporation. “We have, and will continue to
deliver strong performance in a challenging
environment.”
Whirlpool made a series of positive statements as headline bullet points of its official earnings statement press release:
• Announcing increased long-term value creation goals
• Third-quarter net sales growth of ~4%, driven by cost-based pricing initiatives and a continued strong
consumer demand environment
• Strong GAAP net earnings margin of 8.6% (up 120 bps) and very strong ongoing (non-GAAP) EBIT
margin(2) of 11.1% (down 80 bps), largely offsetting 650 bps of raw material inflation
• Cash provided by operating activities improved by $887 million driven by strong earnings; adjusted free
cash flow(4) improved by $1,126 million driven by strong earnings and positively impacted by the
divestitures of Whirlpool China(6) and Turkey subsidiary
• Repurchased $441 million of shares in the quarter
• Increased full-year 2021 earnings per diluted share guidance to ~$27.80 on a GAAP basis and ~$26.25
on an ongoing basis(1); cash provided by operating activities of $1.95 billion and adjusted free cash
flow(4) of $1.70 billion remain unchanged
Whirlpool pointed at its strong cash flow performance in 2021 vs the pandemic dominated year of 2020.
“We continue to strengthen our balance sheet with
exceptional cash generation,” said Jim Peters, chief
financial officer of Whirlpool Corporation. “We are
on track to deliver yet another record ongoing
earnings per share and expect to return over $1.2
billion to shareholders in 2021. ”
The company acknowledged supply chain issues and increased raw materials costs, but argued that it has weathered the pandemic economy well and is adapting to a rapidly changing economy and market conditions.
Some analysts had predicted higher sales numbers for the Third Quarter. Whirlpool leaders instead focused on what they feel is strong profit performance, year to date numbers and a positive view of the appliance market going forward.
