DUBLIN – Intelligent power management company Eaton Corporation plc announced that earnings per share were $2.53 for the third quarter of 2024, up 14% over the third quarter of 2023. Excluding charges of $0.21 per share related to intangible amortization, $0.11 per share related to a multi-year restructuring program, and income of $0.01 per share related to acquisitions and divestitures, adjusted earnings per share of $2.84 were a record and up 15% over the third quarter of 2023.
Sales in the quarter were $6.3 billion, a third quarter record and up 8% from the third quarter of 2023, driven entirely by organic sales growth. Hurricane Helene and labor strikes in the aerospace industry negatively impacted sales by approximately $50 million, or 50 basis points.
Segment margins were 24.3%, a quarterly record and a 70-basis point improvement over the third quarter of 2023.
Operating cash flow was $1.3 billion and free cash flow was $1.1 billion, both quarterly records and up 15% and 23%, respectively, over the same period in 2023.
Craig Arnold, Eaton chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Our business and teams performed well in the quarter. We executed effectively, resulting in order acceleration and further backlog growth in an environment of continuing strong demand. As a result, we’re confident in our ability to close the year strong with raised earnings guidance and expect this positive momentum to continue into 2025.”
Guidance
For the full year 2024, the company is raising the following guidance:
- Segment margins from 23.3-23.7% to 23.5-23.9%
- Earnings per share to between $9.47 and $9.53, up 18% at the midpoint over the prior year
- Adjusted earnings per share to between $10.75 and $10.81, up 18% at the midpoint over the prior year
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the company anticipates:
- Organic growth of 6-7%
- Segment margins of 23.6-24.0%
- Earnings per share between $2.42 and $2.48
- Adjusted earnings per share between $2.78 and $2.84
Business Segment Results
Sales for the Electrical Americas segment were a record $3.0 billion, up 14% from the third quarter of 2023, driven entirely by organic sales growth. Operating profits were a record $892 million, up 24% over the third quarter of 2023. Operating margins in the quarter were a record 30.1%, up 240 basis points over the third quarter of 2023.
The twelve-month rolling average of orders in the third quarter was up 16% organically. Backlog at the end of September remained at record levels, up 26% organically over September 2023.
Sales for the Electrical Global segment were a third quarter record $1.6 billion, up 5% from the third quarter of 2023. Organic sales were up 4%, and positive currency translation added 1%. Operating profits were $294 million and operating margins in the quarter were 18.7%.
The twelve-month rolling average of orders in the third quarter was up 6% organically. Backlog at the end of September was up 19% organically over September 2023.
On a rolling twelve-month basis, the book-to-bill ratio for the Electrical businesses remained strong at 1.1.
Aerospace segment sales were a third quarter record $946 million, up 9% from the third quarter of 2023. Organic sales were up 8%, and positive currency translation added 1%. Operating profits were a record $230 million, up 10% over the third quarter of 2023, and operating margins in the quarter were 24.4%, up 30 basis points over the third quarter of 2023.
The twelve-month rolling average of orders in the third quarter was up 6% organically. The backlog at the end of September was up 14% organically over September 2023. On a rolling twelve-month basis, the book-to-bill ratio for the Aerospace segment remained strong at 1.1.
The Vehicle segment posted sales of $696 million, down 7% from the third quarter of 2023, driven by organic sales decline of 6% and negative currency translation of 1%. Operating profits were $135 million, up 3% over the third quarter of 2023. Operating margins in the quarter were a record 19.4%, up 200 basis points over the third quarter of 2023.
eMobility segment sales were $167 million, a third quarter record and up 2% over the third quarter of 2023. Organic sales were up 1%, and positive currency translation added 1%. The segment recorded an operating loss of $7 million as we continue to incur launch costs related to new programs expected to ramp up over the upcoming quarters.
Financial Results
The company’s comparative financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2024, are available here.
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