Whirlpool predicts drop in AL

Sao Paulo-the Whirlpool changed the forecast for sales in Latin America in 2015, from stable to 3% drop after record revenue of $ 4.7 billion in 2014. Net sales in the region were below the registered a year earlier, when they totaled $ 4.9 billion.
According to the owner of the brands Brastemp and Consul, sales in the region were affected by the exchange rate, inflation and consumer sentiment. Without considering the impact of the exchange rate and tax credits, sales rose 1 percent.
In Latin America, where Brazil has significant weight, since it represents the second largest market outside the United States Whirlpool.
The appliance manufacturer designs, however, larger sales in all regions. In North America, the expectation is of 4% advance to 6% in unit sales, due to the heating of the real estate market and the perception that consumers are more optimistic in the northern hemisphere. For Europe, Middle East and Africa the forecast was revised to 2% compared with high expectation of maintaining the level of sales. In the Asian market, the forecast is for growth of 1% to 3%.
According to the report of result of the American company, global net sales totaled $ 19.9 billion last year, a growth of 5.9% in comparison to 2013. Without the impact of foreign exchange and tax credits, sales rose 8% in the period.
The company's net profit last year totaled $ 1.2 billion, down 4.9% on a year earlier. The pullback reflects the financial impact of spending on acquisitions made recently by the company.