Shares of truck maker Paccar fall on weak 2nd-qtr, modest outlook for European sales

Truck maker Paccar falls on weak 2Q, outlook

NEW YORK — A big drop in second-quarter sales and profit plus the truck maker’s warning that European sales will remain weak on Tuesday weighed on shares of Paccar Inc.

On Monday the Bellevue, Wash., company said that the weak economy hurt freight shipments and truck sales and contributed to its second-quarter net income plunging 92 percent to 7 cents per share.

Excluding a one-time tax gain, the company lost a penny per share. . Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, a profit of 4 cents per share.

Jefferies analyst Stephen Volkmann called the second-quarter results “weak but no disaster.” He noted that Paccar achieved good cost controls.

Also Monday, the company cut its 2009 estimate for European sales of trucks heavier than 15 metric tons to a range of 150,000 to 180,000, “reflecting very challenging economic conditions throughout Europe,” a spokesman said.

And next year’s European sales could fall to a level not seen since 1992, the spokesman added.

In afternoon trading, shares fell $3.77, or 10.7 percent, to $31.52.