Navistar International Corp reported it was profitable in the three- and six-month periods ended April 30, 2004, and said its quality improvements and cost reduction initiatives currently under way place the company on track for strong profitability for the full year.
The company said it earned $41 million in the three months ended April 30, 2004, compared with a net loss of $14 million in the same period a year earlier.
For the first six months of fiscal 2004, Navistar reported net income of $18 million, versus a loss of $113 million in the first six months a year ago. Consolidated first-half sales and revenues amounted to $4.2 billion, compared with $3.4 billion in the first six months of 2003.
Daniel C Ustian, Navistar chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said the recent economic improvement and upsurge in new truck orders is consistent with what the company said in February when it raised its industry retail sales volume 8%. He reaffirmed the prediction that a total of 328,500 Class 6-8 trucks and school buses will be sold in the United States and Canada in the fiscal year ending Oct 31, 2004.
Ustian said the firm will reassess this forecast as the year develops.