Tenneco swings to $167 million net income in Q4 as full-year revenue drops

Diversified auto supplier Tenneco Inc. said it swung to net income of $167 million in the fourth quarter from a net loss of $313 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Fourth-quarter revenue improved 12 percent to $4.65 billion. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased by $123 million to $410 million.

Tenneco posted a $350 million net loss in the second quarter and a $499 million net loss in the third.

The ride-control and emissions systems producer joined several suppliers this month in reporting fourth-quarter and full-year earnings as the COVID-19 crisis lingers around the globe.

Tenneco said the pandemic damaged its full-year revenue and earnings during the first six months of 2020, but its performance in the second half improved margin and free cash flow generation.

“Strong operational performance in the quarter helped Tenneco generate significant cash flow and year-over-year debt reduction,” CEO Brian Kesseler said in a news release.

Tenneco reported a $1.52 billion net loss for the full year — a sharp dip from a $334 million net loss in 2019.

The company also reported total revenue fell by about 12 percent to $15.38 billion in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA dropped by 26 percent $1.05 billion.

Tenneco said it anticipates revenue of $4.45 billion to $4.55 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and $17.2 billion to $17.8 billion for the full year.

Shares of Tenneco closed up 4.1 percent to $11.14 Wednesday on Wall Street.

Tenneco, based near Chicago in Lake Forest, Ill., ranks No. 23 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide parts sales to automakers of $11 billion in 2019.