DUBLIN, Ireland … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) today announced record sales and operating earnings, driven by the acquisition of Cooper Industries. Sales in the second quarter were $5.6 billion, 38 percent above the same period in 2012. Operating earnings for the second quarter of 2013, excluding charges of $39 million to integrate recent acquisitions, were $519 million, an increase of 32 percent over 2012. Operating earnings per share, which exclude charges of $0.05 per share to integrate recent acquisitions, were $1.09 for the second quarter of 2013. This result is a decrease of 5 percent from the second quarter of 2012, reflecting the shares issued as part of the acquisition of Cooper Industries and the purchase price accounting charges resulting from the transaction.
Alexander M. Cutler, Eaton chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Our second quarter operating earnings per share came in just below the midpoint of our guidance, despite softer market conditions than we expected at the start of the quarter. We were able to largely offset the lower revenue by generating higher operating margins, with our overall segment margin coming in at 15.6 percent, a quarterly record. This strong performance reflects our enhanced portfolio as a result of the Cooper Industries acquisition, Cooper integration savings, and our continued focus on productivity improvements.
“With global economic growth coming in lower than our earlier expectations, we now believe our markets will grow just 1 percent in 2013,” said Cutler.
“We generated strong cash flow in the second quarter, posting $609 million of operating cash flow, and after capital spending of $129 million, $480 million of free cash flow,” said Cutler. “With our markets in 2013 growing more slowly than expected, we have reduced our capital spending. We expect operating cash flow in 2013 to come in between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion, about $100 million lower than our prior forecast.
“As the Cooper integration has progressed, we have been able to realize synergy savings at a faster pace than we had expected,” said Cutler. “We now estimate 2013 synergy savings to be $115 million, $25 million higher than our prior estimate.
“We anticipate operating earnings per share for the third quarter of 2013, which exclude an estimated $64 million of charges to integrate our recent acquisitions, to be between $1.05 and $1.15,” said Cutler.
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