Power management company Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) of Dublin, Ireland, announced that operating earnings per share, which exclude charges of $0.09 per share to integrate recent acquisitions, were $1.01 for the first quarter of 2014, up 20 percent over the first quarter of 2013.
Eaton’s sales in the first quarter of 2014 were $5.5 billion, up 3.5 percent over the same period last year. Operating earnings for the first quarter of 2014, excluding pre-tax charges of $66 million to integrate recent acquisitions, were $483 million, an increase of 21 percent over 2013.
“Our first quarter results are a solid start to the year, coming in slightly above the midpoint of our range in spite of the negative impact from the severe winter weather we encountered in North America,” said Alexander M. Cutler, chairman and CEO, in a company press release. “We estimate the severe weather reduced earnings in the quarter by $0.03 per share.”
Cutler added that Eaton’s 3.5 percent sales growth in the first quarter consisted of an increase of 4.5 percent in core sales, partially offset by a 1 percent decline from currency translation. “We entered 2014 expecting it would be a year of modest global economic growth, leading to 3 percent growth in our markets,” he said. “We continue to believe our markets will grow 3 percent in 2014.”
Breaking down Eaton’s performance by business segment, sales for electrical products were $1.7 billion, up 4 percent over 2013. Sales for the firm’s electrical systems and services segment were $1.5 billion, the same as in the first quarter of 2013. Hydraulics segment sales were $782 million, an increase of 3 percent over the first quarter of 2013. Aerospace segment sales were $464 million, up 7 percent over the first quarter of 2013, and Eaton’s vehicle segment posted sales of $996 million, up 6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.
Eaton’s integration of Cooper is expected to generate an increase of $95 million in operating earnings in 2014 over 2013 and an additional $150 million of operating earnings in 2015, according to the company press release. “In order to generate enhanced efficiencies in the industrial sector (the hydraulics, aerospace, and vehicle business segments),” Cutler said, “we expect to incur restructuring costs of $40 million, or $0.08 per share, during the second quarter of 2014. We anticipate the savings generated in 2015 by the restructuring will be $35 million, or $0.07 per share.”
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