STOCKHOLM, April 24 (Reuters) - Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) reported on Friday a surprise operating loss for the first quarter on slowing sales as demand in North America slumped.
Electrolux said sales in North America shrank organically by 11.6%, mainly reflecting weaker market conditions, leading to a group organic sales decline of 0.5%.
The group late on Thursday announced it would partner with Chinese rival Midea (000333.SZ) in North America, where Electrolux has been struggling for years. It also announced a 9 billion crown ($971 million) rights issue to fund the partnership, as well as job cuts and other cost cutting measures. Electrolux, whose brands also include Frigidaire and AEG, also said late on Thursday that operating profit before non-recurring items in the first quarter landed at around 200 million crowns, missing analysts’ expectations of 781 million, on sales of 30 billion.
Including one-off items, it swung to an operating loss of 266 million crowns from a year-earlier profit of 452 million, the full earnings report showed on Friday. Analysts had before Thursday’s news on average expected a profit of 280 million crowns, according to a poll provided by Electrolux.
($1 = 9.2663 Swedish crowns)
Electrolux shares have fallen 75% since 2021 highs
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Midea Group

MIDEA GROUP

Bosera CNI Top Household Appliances ETF

GF CSI All Share Household Appliances ETF

E Fund CSI Household & Appliances Top ETF

Guotai CSI All Share Household Appliances ETF

Appliances maker Electrolux swings to loss in Q1 as demand slumps in North America