DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ArvinMeritor Inc. (ARM) fiscal first-quarter net loss widened
amid a write-down at its to-be-shed light-vehicles business and
slumping demand.
The auto-parts maker also announced a fresh round of cost
cutting, including suspending its quarterly dividend. Such a move
will save ArvinMeritor about $29 million a year. Prior moves
include last week's announcement of 1,500 jobs, extended shutdowns
and reduced work weeks.
As auto manufacturers keep cutting production and consumers put
off buying new cars, auto-parts makers have seen demand drop
steadily and fears have increased about bankruptcy filings among
the group. U.S. auto sales in January hit a 27-year low, raising
fresh questions about the future of the Detroit Three and the
viability of the government's bailout program.
For the quarter ended Dec. 28, ArvinMeritor posted a net loss of
$991 million, or $13.71 a share, compared with a prior-year net
loss of $12 million, or 17 cents a share. Excluding items including
the light-vehicle write-down, the loss would have been 77
cents.
Revenue slumped 18% to $1.37 billion, with 7 percentage points
of the decline due to the weaker dollar.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had been expecting a 6-cent
loss on revenue of $1.14 billion.
ArvinMeritor's commercial-vehicle business had been holding up
results, but sales there fell 11% in the latest quarter.
Revenue dropped 29% at the light-vehicle segment. The company
shelved plans this fall to spin off the segment, then said last
month it would reorganize the unit and try to sell it off in
pieces. That reorganization, as well as the pulling of
already-bleak guidance, led a ratings agency to push its grades on
ArvinMeritor further into junk territory.
The company remains "intensely focused" on maintaining liquidity
and expects to be in compliance with its financial covenants.
Shares closed Tuesday at $1.81 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is down nearly 90% since September.
-By David Benoit and Katherine Wegert, Dow Jones Newswires;
201-938-2472; david.benoit@dowjones.com
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