Whirlpool cut its full-year sales and earnings forecasts and announced a strategic review of its business in several Countries with questions now being asked as to whether they are set to pull out of doing business in Australia similar to what they are considering for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Overnight the US Company said that inflation has only worsened since the company last announced results in January, forcing Whirlpool to raise its forecast for additional costs by $600 million to $1.8 billion in 2022.
Raw materials will account for most of this year’s inflation, primarily driven by steel and resins, Whirlpool said.
Whirlpool JQ280IX Crisp N Grill
Back in 2019 a massive row has broken out over the quality of Whirlpool appliances after 519,000 washing machines were recalled, after consumers reported problems with faulty Whirlpool dryers.
In the UK MPs called on the US owned Whirlpool to offer refunds or “swift compensation” as consumers found themselves without a washing machine.
In Australia the Harvey Norman owned distributor Arisit took over distribution of the Whirlpool brand, this resulted in both JB Hi Fi and The Good Guys dropping the US brand.
The appliance maker originally claimed that they would achieve sales growth for the quarter of 6% however in their latest filings this has fallen to 2% with some observers questioning whether they will actually hit this target as inflation affects sales in the USA.
The company admits demand will be hit in the first half of the year by supply disruptions and economic pressures.
Whirlpool said that they expect additional price increases to offset elevated expenses in the second half of the year.
The KitchenAid owner also announced a strategic review of its business in several Countries, at this stage it’s not known whether Australia is part of that review.
Whirlpool claim that they are looking to focus on businesses with high growth and margin potential, while centring its efforts on the Americas and Indian markets.
