Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. AXL sank 8.5% in premarket trading, after the maker of auto driveline systems and components reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss, amid customer production schedule volatility and ongoing supply chain challenges. The company swung to net income of $13.9 million, or 11 cents a share, from a net loss of $46.3 million, or 41 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as fire insurance recoveries, the adjusted per-share loss narrowed to 7 cents from 9 cents, but the FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 1 cent. Sales grew 12.8% to $1.393 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $1.390 billion, as sales were boosted by the company’s Tekfor acquisition. For 2023, the company expects sales of $5.95 billion to $6.25 billion, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $5.98 billion, and expects adjusted free cash flow of $225 million to $300 million, compared with 2022 adjusted FCF of $313 million. The stock has gained 2.3% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 3.6%.
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