Electrolux to report a smaller loss for second quarter 2020 than previously anticipated

(Reuters) - Europe's home appliance maker Electrolux <ELUXb.ST> said on Tuesday that it will report a smaller loss for the second quarter of 2020 than previously anticipated, with operating income estimated at about 100 million crown.

The Swedish company, a rival of U.S. appliance group Whirlpool Corp <WHR.N> said the reason for the report of smaller loss for the second quarter of 2020 was due to sales growth in June and successful cost mitigation actions.

Net sales in the second quarter are estimated to be approximately 23.5 billion crowns, a decrease of 17% organically, the company said.

In June, the company had organic sales growth of 3% year-over-year, it added.

In its first quarter interim report, the company said that it expects a significant second-quarter loss due to the impact of the coronavirus and saw sales plunge 30% in April.

As lockdown restrictions in its major markets have been gradually lifted, the company said markets in Europe have developed more positively than expected in the latter part of the quarter.

The maker of brands such as Frigidaire and Anova reported first-quarter earnings in May well above expectations, but said the impact of the coronavirus affected operations with an increasing force towards the end of the quarter and into April.

Electrolux said all the figures are preliminary and unaudited.

The company will publish its second quarter 2020 results on July 17.

(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)