UPDATE 1-CNH Industrial trims sales forecast but on course for profit target
(Adds CEO quote, details)
MILAN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - CNH Industrial , whose brands include Iveco trucks, trimmed its forecast for full-year revenue but maintained its guidance on profits after lower sales volumes and exchange rates weighed on results in the second quarter.
Chief Executive Hubertus Muhlhauser told analysts on Thursday in a post-earnings call that the company continued to face negative effects from trade disputes and weather events driven by climate change, but that uncertainties were starting to reduce.
"If there is a silver lining here, it would be that our visibility into the effects of these headwinds are a bit clearer than they were some time ago," he said.
Milan-listed shares in the trucks and tractor maker rose as much as 2.85% after the earnings release and were up 1.9% by 1455 GMT.
CNH Industrial - which also makes most construction equipment and powertrains - now expects to book fully-year net sales from industrial activities of between $27 billion and $27.5 billion, versus previous guidance of approximately $28 billion.
The company, whose main shareholder is Exor, the holding group of Italy's Agnelli family, confirmed it expected adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of between $0.84 and $0.88 this year.
In the second quarter, CNH's adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from industrial activities were down 7.7% at $527 millions, short of a $594 million average forecast in a Reuters analyst survey.
CHN Industrial is expected to shed light on its long-term strategy at a capital market day on Sept. 3 and its Iveco truck unit has often been cited as a potential spin-off candidate.
Muhlhauser, who was appointed last year, said Iveco was a core part of the group but added that a wider strategy review was still in progress.
Previous Chairman Sergio Marchionne had said he was open to the possibility of hiving off some businesses once their balance sheets were sound.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari Editing by Keith Weir)
