Whirlpool forecasts 2021 profit above estimates as demand up in pandemic

FILE PHOTO: The administrative entrance at the Whirlpool plant in Clyde, Ohio, U.S. October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk

(Reuters) – Home appliances maker Whirlpool Corp on Wednesday forecast 2021 profit above expectations, as demand for its home appliances rose among people stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand for large home appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, tumble driers that were traditionally available only in white and are known as white goods, picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic as people diverted their discretionary spending from social activities like traveling into their homes.

Whirlpool said it expects full-year 2021 adjusted profit to be between $19 per share and $20 per share, compared to analysts’ average estimate of $19.10, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net earnings available to the company in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $497 million, or $7.77 per share, from $288 million, or $4.52 per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose to $5.80 billion from $5.38 billion, a year earlier.

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