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Maytag sees 50% profit dip
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December 14, 2000: 11:48 a.m. ET
Appliance maker joins rival Whirlpool in offering dim forecast for 4Q
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Maytag Corp. warned Thursday that sluggish appliance sales would cause fourth-quarter profit to tumble 50 percent from the 82 cents a share earned a year earlier, coming in well below Wall Street forecasts of 78 cents a share.
Shares of Maytag (MYG: Research, Estimates) tumbled $2.81, about 9 percent, to $26.88 in Thursday morning trading.
The company said its expectations were based on assumptions for the major appliance industry to be slightly down or flat.
 "The industry is down more severely and, as a result, we are seeing lower volume in our major appliance division, which translates directly into weaker operating income and operating inefficiencies associated with lower production levels," said Leonard A. Hadley, Maytag president and CEO, in a statement.
The warning came a day after rival Whirlpool Corp. (WHR: Research, Estimates) warned for the second time about fourth-quarter results and said it would cut 6,000 jobs.
Whirlpool said in a statement that fourth-quarter profit would be about flat with the third quarter, when it reported operating earnings of 98 cents a share. Wall Street has been expecting profits of $1.42 a share, according to First Call, which tracks analysts' forecasts.
Last month Maytag's CEO Lloyd Ward resigned amid profit warnings and declining sales. 
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Maytag
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