STOCKHOLM, Sweden–Net income for AB Electrolux, the parent company of Electrolux North America, rose 564.6 percent in the second quarter, to $85 million.
The company accomplished this on a net sales gain of 7.4 percent to $3.6 billion. In a statement about the results, Electrolux said the launch of its North American appliances operation cut deeply into its net income in the second quarter of 2008. The quarter’s results also received a boost from favorable changes in currency exchange rates, along with expense reductions, lower costs for raw materials and price increases in North America and Europe.
Analyzing its performance by region, Electrolux said the North American market declined for the 12th consecutive quarter, and industry shipments to the United States fell 14 percent. The company also said it sees no indications of improvement in any of its main markets in the short term, and it expects market demand for appliances throughout the world to decline further for the rest of this year.
North America accounted for 36 percent of Electrolux’s sales, second only to Europe’s share of 38 percent, in the first half of 2009.
