BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Whirlpool Corp.’s first-quarter net income rose 3 percent as it sold more appliances even after it raised prices to help combat rising material costs and benefited from cost-cutting.
The Benton Harbor, Mich., company, whose other brands include Maytag and Kitchenaid, also backed its full-year earnings guidance Wednesday.
The world’s biggest appliance maker is not alone in its concern about rising material costs. Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux AB said Wednesday that prices on some of its most important raw materials, particularly plastics, continue to climb.
Some of Whirlpool’s material costs go toward steel, copper and the resins that make plastic.
Whirlpool’s net income rose to $169 million, or $2.17 per share, for the quarter that ended March 31, from $164 million, or $2.13 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding an adjustment to lower the total cost of a dishwasher recall, earnings were $2.11 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.55 per share.
Revenue climbed 3 percent to $4.4 billion as sales improved, besting Wall Street’s $4.26 billion.
In North America, revenue rose slightly to $2.3 billion while unit shipments climbed about 4 percent. U.S. unit shipments of major appliances dipped about 1 percent.
Revenue for Europe, the Middle East and Africa edged up
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