MILWAUKEE (AP) — Rockwell Automation Inc. on Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $198.6 million.
The Milwaukee-based company said it had profit of $1.58 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $2.16 per share.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.03 per share.
The industrial equipment and software maker posted revenue of $1.7 billion in the period, which matched Street forecasts.
Rockwell Automation expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.90 to $8.10 per share.
Rockwell Automation shares have fallen 13 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed 5.5 percent. The stock has climbed 4 percent in the last 12 months.
The full report can be viewed here.
Commenting on the third quarter results, Blake D. Moret, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “I am very pleased with our results for the quarter. Our 6 percent organic sales growth was above expectations, driven by broad-based growth across regions and industries. We expanded segment margins by more than a point, increased Adjusted EPS by over 20 percent, and delivered strong free cash flow performance. We continue to invest for growth and are executing well on our key strategic initiatives.”
He added, “Global Industrial Production and other production indicators remain strong. Taking into consideration our year-to-date results, growing backlog, and the macro outlook, we are raising fiscal 2018 organic sales growth guidance to about 5.5 percent and continue to expect fiscal 2018 reported sales to be about $6.7 billion. We are increasing our Adjusted EPS guidance range to $7.90 – $8.10.”
Moret continued, “We are focused on profitable, above-market growth through a combination of share gains in core platforms, double-digit growth in Information Solutions and Connected Services, and a point or more per year of growth from acquisitions. We are delivering in each of these areas. In our core platforms, Logix grew 10 percent and Process grew 8 percent this quarter. Revenue from the new value of The Connected Enterprise again grew double digits. Our strategic partnership with PTC creates the most comprehensive and flexible information software offering in the industry. This will unlock new levels of productivity [for] our customers and accelerate our profitable growth.
“The dedication of our employees, partners, and suppliers continues to make the difference at our customers and is the key to our success.”
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Parts of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ROK at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ROK
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