Navistar 4Q Profit Falls 55% As Engines Swing to the Red

Navistar International's fourth-quarter earnings fell 55% as the commercial truck and engine maker reported its engine business swung to a loss

Navistar International Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 55% as the commercial truck and engine maker reported that its engine business swung to a loss. That masked ongoing growth at its truck business.

Navistar's prior cost cutting and slowly recovering demand for medium and heavy trucks delivered the company's first revenue growth in a year and a half in the third quarter, with a boost from military business. In the latest period, truck-segment profit soared to $86 million from $5 million a year earlier. But the much-smaller engine business swung to the red.

Navistar's decision to offer its own engines, which don't use the same pollution-reduction technology as the rest of the industry, led to concerns among some investors and analysts who worry the strategy may lead to a long-lasting reduction in Navistar market share.

(More at SmartMoney.com . . . )

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