Paccar Posts Loss Tied to European Price Probe
Paccar Inc. reported a $594.6 million, or $1.69, loss in the first quarter, tied to a charge for expected penalties relating to a European price-fixing investigation.
Excluding that charge, earnings at Paccar were $348 million, or 99 cents, down 8% from $378.4 million, or $1.06.
That probe by European regulators also is targeting activities at Daimler, Volvo and others that sell trucks in Europe.
Paccar said revenue slipped 12% to $4.30 billion from $4.83 billion.
CEO Ron Armstrong said Paccar was helped by a “favorable truck market in North America and record DAF market share in Europe during the quarter.
Though industrywide sales and orders have been slipping this year from near-record levels in 2015, Paccar Executive Vice President Gary Moore said that in 2016 the truck market still would be the third-best in the past decade, with help from “the good economy and steady freight demand.”
Paccar stressed potential growth in Europe, where heavy-truck sales this year are expected to be the strongest since 2008.
Paccar has raised its share of incoming United States orders to 37% from less than 30% last year, Robert W. Baird analyst David Leiker noted in a report.
Deliveries in the United States and Canada totaled 18,500, down 32% in the quarter. Worldwide, deliveries were 8% lower.
Armstrong said on a conference call that the pricing of new trucks remains steady.
