Sunbeam Loss Grows; Firm May Sell Unit

Sunbeam Corp. posted a higher-than-expected second-quarter loss and said it will sell its Oster barber, beauty and animal-grooming products business. Sunbeam’s shares fell 19%.

Sunbeam, the No. 1 U.S. maker of small appliances, said its loss from operations increased to $54 million, or 50 cents a share, from $37 million, or 37 cents, a year ago. Sales fell 7.8% to $609.6 million.

The quarterly loss, Sunbeam’s 10th in a row, was deeper than the 33-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.

Sunbeam sold fewer Powermate generators, Coleman camp stoves and lanterns than a year earlier, when some customers feared that the arrival of the year 2000 might disrupt computer systems.

“We underestimated the degree to which the sale of Y2K-related products . . . would cannibalize 2000 sales,” Chairman Jerry Levin said. Sunbeam may see a similar sales decline in the next two quarters, he said.

The company, based in Boca Raton, also makes First Alert smoke detectors and Mr. Coffee coffee makers.

Oster’s professional products business could sell for $75 million to $125 million, Armstrong said. The proceeds would help Sunbeam pay down debt taken on by fired Chairman Albert Dunlap when he acquired Coleman Co., First Alert Inc. and Signature Brands USA Inc. in 1998. Sunbeam has $2.4 billion in debt.

The Oster business is being sold because it needs a unique distribution network to serve its market of barbers and hairstylists, Sunbeam said. Banc of America Securities is advising Sunbeam on the sale.

Sunbeam shares fell 44 cents to close at $2.19 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has dropped 65% in the last year.

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Shares of small-appliance maker Sunbeam Corp. (tickaer symbol: SOC) hit a record low Monday after the firm reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss.

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Sunbeam shares, weekly closes and latest on NYSE:

Monday: $2.19, down 44 cents

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Source: Bloomberg News