Navistar reported a $42 million net loss earnings, or $0.52 per share, and $2.4 billion in first quarter revenue, a nearly a 10-percent increase over the revenue posted during the same period last year.
The company said during its quarterly results call on Tuesday that it also posted an EBIDTA gain of $101 million, a $211 million year-over-year improvement from the $110 million EBITDA loss reported for 1Q 2014. This year’s adjusted 1Q EBITDA is $54 million when factoring in pre-existing warranty adjustments and a one-time cost tied to restructuring.
The company also said it finished the first quarter 2015 with $733 million in manufacturing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
“Our first-quarter results reflect our continued momentum and ongoing progress in improving the fundamentals of our business,” commented Navistar CEO Troy Clarke.
He added that the company remains optimistic for the rest of the year pointing to favorable market conditions tied in part to an improvement in the U.S. economy, lower oil prices and increased consumer spending.
Clarke said Navistar expects to sell between 350,000 and 380,000 medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses by the end of 2015. Last year, Navistar sold 342,000 total units. He also said the company expects to regain market share lost over the last two years, and added that all segments are expected to post increased sales numbers.
The truck segment did record an $18 million loss during the first quarter, but that was $190 million decrease from 2014. Navistar explained the year-over-year improvement as a result of a product mix shift toward medium duty trucks and school buses and a $55 million benefit for adjustments to pre-existing warranties.
Chargeouts increased 17 percent overall, and Clarke said school buses saw a 42 percent increase.
Walter Borst, Navistar’s CFO, said that the truck segment is getting “pretty close” to reporting a profit.
“We can’t wait to report out a quarter where it’s positive, but I think we’ll both have to wait to see exactly when that’s going to be,” he added.
Meanwhile, the parts group reported a profit of $145 million, more than a 34 percent increase from last year. Navistar said that was due primarily to higher revenues and margin improvements.
Navistar’s global operations also reduced losses to $15 million from $35 million a year ago. The company said that year-over-year improvement was due to lower manufacturing and structural costs as a result of restructuring and cost-reduction efforts in the company’s South American operations, and lower foreign exchange losses.
The financial service segment saw a 4 percent improvement in profit at $24 million profit.
