Navistar International Corp., the nation's largest combined commercial truck and mid-range diesel engine producer, has reported a fourth quarter profit.

It marked the company's second consecutive quarter of profitable operations, but the second half profitability wasn't enough to put the company in the black for its full fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2003.
Earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter totaled $77 million. Included in the fourth quarter earnings was an after tax benefit of $22 million resulting from adjustments to previously recorded restructuring charges.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003 amounted to $2.0 billion, about the same as revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002.
Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar president and chief executive officer, said that fourth quarter results reflect improvement in the company's cost structure and, as previously forecast, profit expectations were achieved without the benefit of the credit relating to the company's restructuring initiatives.
"Overall performance for the fourth quarter was excellent and results demonstrated that our strategies are on track for a return to solid profitability in 2004," Ustian said. "It is important to note that earnings from continuing operations on $2 billion of revenue was significantly better than in the fourth quarter a year ago."
The fourth quarter benefit of $0.28 cents per diluted common share resulted from the net adjustment to the previously recorded restructuring charges, primarily related to the decision to keep the Chatham, Ontario, heavy truck assembly plant open.
Navistar is forecasting United States and Canadian total truck industry retail sales volume for Class 6-8 and school buses in fiscal 2004 at 304,500 units, up 16% from the 263,400 units sold in fiscal 2003. Demand for heavy trucks is expected to increase 20% to 191,000 units, while demand for Class 6-7 medium trucks is estimated at 86,000, up 15% from the 74,900 units sold in 2003.
Ustian said that the company's forecast for 2004 retail commercial truck sales volume is lower than that forecast by some other sources, but noted that the company is historically conservative in its outlook.
"We demonstrated in the second half of 2003 that we can be profitable at low industry volumes and as demand increases, our earnings will accelerate."
The company's trucks and buses are sold under the International and IC brands. Worldwide shipments in fiscal 2003 totaled 84,600 trucks and buses, of which 34,900 were medium trucks -- primarily Class 6 and 7 -- and 28,300 were heavy trucks (Class 8). Shipments in 2002 consisted of 83,500 trucks and buses, of which 32,900 were medium trucks and 31,100 were heavy trucks.
The company's overall combined market share in the United States and Canada in 2003 increased, with school bus operations showing the biggest percentage gain. Class 6-7 share increased 0.3% to 42.0%, and severe service share increased 2.9% to 23.2%.
Heavy truck market share declined 1.7% to 13.9% as the company said it chose not to chase low margin larger fleet deals that occurred in the last half of 2003. Overall Class 8 market share declined to 16.4% from 16.9%.