Emerson Q2 Net Profit Down, EPS Flat; Results Miss View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Diversified global technology company Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) posted 2% lower net earnings common shareholders of $547 million in the second quarter, versus the prior year's $561 million. Including $0.03 loss from Artesyn equity investment, three-month earnings per share of $0.77 remained unchanged from last year. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.81 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Quarterly sales fell 2 percent year-over-year to $5.81 billion, from $5.96 billion, with the Artesyn divestiture deducting 5 percent and acquisitions adding 1 percent. Analysts estimated revenues of $5.90 billion for the quarter. On the other hand, underlying sales rose by 2 percent, as orders timing, disruptive winter weather and weak first quarter GDP growth in the U.S., and slower implementation of large projects in the global process industry hampered growth.

By geography, the U.S. grew 3 percent, Asia advanced by 4 percent, including China up 9 percent, and Europe was up 1 percent, while Middle East/Africa dropped 9 percent following robust growth in last year. More positively, orders growth of 9 percent reflected stronger market conditions, particularly toward the end of the quarter, driving March up more than 15 percent, as orders benefited from large, multi-year industrial projects, recovering demand for capital goods, and improvement in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, the company said.