American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL), an automotive and mobility components producer, announced a loss in the fourth quarter due to increased costs and expenditures. Nevertheless, the company's revenue rose, courtesy of a robust volume and mix, although slightly hampered by the UAW work stoppage.
Furthermore, the company's loss was lower than market predictions.
In the final quarter, AXL recorded a net loss of $19.1 million or $0.16 per share, in contrast to a profit of $13.9 million or $0.11 per share, documented in the same period the previous year.
Having excluded certain factors, the loss equated to $0.09 per share, compared to a loss of $0.07 per share a year earlier.
According to a survey by Thomson Reuters of 10 analysts, the consensus was that the company would report a loss of $0.19 per share for the quarter. The analysts' projections usually disregard unique factors.
Operating income took a dip down to $28.8 million from $53.6 million in 2022. The cost of goods sold rose to $1.308 billion from the prior year's $1.225 billion.
Administrative and general sales costs came up to $95.7 million, a step up from the $88.5 million of the previous year.
Restructuring and acquisition-associated costs increased to $9 million, from the last year's $3.8 million.
Interest expenditure ended at $50.2 million, in comparison to 2022's amount of $42.3 million.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) totaled $158.3 million, a slight drop from $185.3 million in the previous year. However, after excluding certain items, EBITDA rose to $169.5 million from $157.7 million.
Sales rose to $1.463 billion from the preceding year's $1.392 billion, surpassing analysts' prediction of $1.42 billion.
Looking forward, for the upcoming year, AXL projects adjusted EBITDA to fall between $685 million and $750 million. For 2023, the company reported adjusted EBITDA of $693.3 million.
The company estimates yearly sales to range from $6.05 billion to $6.35 billion, aligning with analysts' projections of $6.17 billion. For 2023, the company recorded sales of $6.079 billion.
In the pre-market trade on the New York Stock Exchange, AXL's shares were up by 3.51 percent at $8.85 per share.
