American Axle Q4 Adj. Earnings Beat View; Affirms FY19 Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) on Friday reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, reflecting lower sales and a goodwill impairment. However, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations. In addition, the company affirmed its financial outlook for fiscal 2019.

The company's net loss for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $361.8 million or $3.24 per share, compared to net income of $106.3 million or $0.93 per share in the year-ago period.

The latest quarter's results reflect the impact of a non-cash goodwill impairment of $485.5 million related to the company's Casting and Powertrain segments.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.45 per share, compared to $0.89 per share in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net sales for the quarter were $1.69 billion, down from $1.73 billion in the year-ago period.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.42 per share for the quarter on revenues of $1.68 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, American Axle affirmed its outlook for adjusted EBITDA in a range of $1.20 billion to $1.25 billion, and sales in a range of $7.3 billion to $7.4 billion.

The Street expects earnings of $3.09 per share for the year on revenues of $7.24 billion.