Electrolux profit falls 60% on antitrust provision

Electrolux AB (ELUX-B.SK) on Wednesday reported a 60% fall in second-quarter net profit after booking a provision from an antitrust investigation by the French Competition Authority.

The Swedish home-appliance manufacturer made a net profit of 517 million Swedish Kronor ($58.6 million), compared with SEK1.29 billion a year earlier. This compares with analysts expectations of SEK783 million, based on a FactSet poll.

Electrolux said it incurred costs of SEK564 million related to the French competition probe and SEK254 million due to a court ruling in France.

Sales for the quarter rose to SEK31.35 billion, from SEK30.95 billion a year earlier, and analysts expectations were of sales of SEK31.04 billion.

The company said it expects a negative year-on-year impact from raw materials of about SEK1.8 billion in 2018 and it expects cost inflation following the recently announced trade actions in the U.S.

Electrolux said current industry trends indicate a slightly softer market demand outlook for North America, Latin America and Australia, driven by higher market prices caused by higher input costs.

Dominic Chopping contributed to this article.

Write to Ian Walker at [email protected]; @IanWalk40289749

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