Rockwell Automation, Inc. reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.55 in second-quarter fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2017), up 13 percent from $1.37 earned in the prior-year quarter. Further, earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.40, a positive earnings surprise of 11 percent. The year-over-year performance was driven by higher sales, and lower effective tax rates, partially offset by higher incentive compensation.
Including one-time items, the company’s earnings came in at $1.45 per share, up 13 percent from the year-ago quarter figure of $1.28.
Total revenue was $1.55 million in the quarter, up 8 percent year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48 billion. Organic sales rose 6.8 percent, acquisitions contributed 1.7 percent while unfavorable foreign currency translations had an impact of 0.6 percent.
Guidance
Rockwell Automation stated that the macro environment continues to improve, with projections of Industrial Production growth rates higher than a quarter ago. Moreover, backed by strong performance in first-half fiscal 2017, Rockwell Automation has increased fiscal 2017 sales growth guidance to the range of 4.5–7.5 percent. The company now anticipates adjusted EPS in the range of $6.45–$6.75 per share.Rockwell Automation’s shares have outperformed the Zacks categorized Industrial Automation/Robotics sub industry in the past year. The company’s share price has surged 41.4 percent, while the subindustry witnessed a gain of 36.7 percent.
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