By Melodie Warner
Honeywell International Inc.'s (HON) second-quarter earnings
rose 13% as strong automation and control-systems sales helped
improve margins and offset the diversified industrial company's
weaker aerospace sales.
The company raised the low end of its full-year adjusted
earnings estimate by five cents to a range of $4.85 to $4.95 a
share and lifted the bottom of its revenue forecast by $100 million
to between $38.9 billion and $39.3 billion.
The maker of aerospace, building control and safety products has
said it will focus on boosting its margins to sustain profit growth
as weaker economic expansion slowed its revenue gains. Honeywell
has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years
to streamline the company, focusing largely on Europe.
Honeywell also agreed in December to acquire Intermec Inc. (IN),
a provider of supply-chain products, printers and bar-code
scanners. Intermec's shareholders approved the $600 million deal in
March, but the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has made a second
request for information. Intermec last month extended the merger
termination date to Oct. 10 from June 10, citing the pending FTC
approval.
Honeywell reported a profit of $1.02 billion, or $1.28 a share,
up from $902 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose
2.7% to $9.69 billion.
The company's April forecast was for earnings of $1.18 to $1.23
a share on sales between $9.5 billion and $9.7 billion.
Operating margin improved to 13.7% from 12.9%.
Sales at the automation and control-systems business, which
serves the commercial-construction industry, rose 2.6% to $4.07
billion. The aerospace unit's sales declined 1% to $3 billion.
Performance materials and technologies sales were up 8.9%, while
transportation systems sales jumped 5.2%.
Shares were trading 2.5% higher at $85 premarket. The stock is
up 31% since the start of the year through Thursday's close.
Write to Melodie Warner at melodie.warner@dowjones.com
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