Rockwell Automation Inc. Reports Consolidated Earnings Results for the First Quarter Ended December 31, 2017; Provides Earnings Guidance for the Fiscal 2018
January 24, 2018 at 07:00 am
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Rockwell Automation Inc. reported consolidated earnings results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2017. For the quarter, the company reported total sales of $1,586.6 million compared to $1,490.3 million a year ago. Income before income taxes was of $297.8 million compared to $257.6 million a year ago. Net loss was $236.4 million or $1.84 per diluted share compared to income of $214.7 million or $1.65 per diluted share a year ago. Cash provided by operating activities was of $212.7 million compared to $310.8 million a year ago. Capital expenditures were of $34.1 million compared to $39.4 million a year ago. Adjusted income was $255.5 million or $1.96 per share compared to $227.3 million or $1.75 per share a year ago. The increase in Adjusted EPS was primarily due to higher sales, partially offset by higher investment spending. Pre-tax margin was 18.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to 17.3% in the same period last year.
The company provided earnings guidance for the fiscal 2018. For the year, the company expects diluted EPS of $3.67 to $3.97, adjusted EPS of $7.60 to $7.90. The Company expects an effective tax rate of approximately 59% and an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 21%. The company expects sales growth of 4.5% to 7.5%. The company still expect fiscal 2018 organic sales to be up 5% year-over-year at the midpoint of guidance and expect full year reported sales to be about $6.7 billion, including the impact of currency. Compared to expectations back in November, the company see slightly better growth in heavy industries and a weaker transportation vertical.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is one of the world's largest companies that specialize in the manufacturing and marketing of automation and industrial infrastructure control systems. The products are primarily intended for the food processing, automotive, mining, oil, and gas industries. Net sales break down by family of products and services as follows:
- automation and control devices (45.2%): drive systems, variable frequency drives, motor controls, servo drives, servomotors, actuators, microcontrollers, safety, detection, protection systems, etc.;
- automation solutions and systems (31.9%): automation software and hardware platforms, design, visualization, simulation and execution software, human-machine interface devices, industrial computers, computer networks, etc.;
- professional services and value-added solutions (22.9%): consulting, training and maintenance services, on-site and remote assistance, cloud-based connected services, digital automation solutions for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, etc.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: North America (57.7%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (20.7%), Asia/Pacific (15%) and Latin America (6.6%).
Rockwell Automation Inc. Reports Consolidated Earnings Results for the First Quarter Ended December 31, 2017; Provides Earnings Guidance for the Fiscal 2018