Illinois Tool Works Backs 2013 Outlook, Sees 2014 Earnings In Line

(RTTNews) - Industrial equipment maker Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) said Friday it will provide details of the progress on its five-year enterprise strategy at its annual investor and analyst meeting later today in New York City. During the meeting, the company will also confirm its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013 and initiate earnings guidance for fiscal 2014, both in line with analysts' estimates.

The company maintained its forecast for fiscal 2013 earnings from continuing operations in a range of $3.56 to $3.64 per share. On average, fifteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to earn $3.62 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For fiscal 2014, Illinois Tool Works forecast earnings in a range of $4.30 to $4.50 per share and organic revenue growth in a range of 2 percent to 3 percent. The company also projects operating margins of about 19 percent for the year. Street expects the company to earn $4.46 per share for the year on revenues of $14.86 billion.

The company said that key management participants in the Investor Day will include President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Santi, Vice Chairman David Parry, and Chief Financial Officer Michael Larsen.

CEO Santi said, "At our Annual Investor and Analyst Meeting last year we outlined our 2012-2017 enterprise strategy that focuses the company on delivering solid growth with strong returns and best-in-class operating performance for our shareholders. We are pleased with the progress we have made in 2013, which is year one of our five-year plan."

In December 2012, Illinois Tool Works provided details of its five-year enterprise strategy and said that key initiatives that would drive the enterprise performance goals were portfolio management, business structure simplification and strategic sourcing.

In late October 2013, Illinois Tool Works reported a profit for the third quarter that declined to $452 million or $1.01 per share from $524 million or $1.12 per share in the same period last year. Revenues for the quarter decreased to $3.57 billion from $3.73 billion in the year-ago period.

ITW closed Thursday's trading at $78.91, up $0.79 on a volume of 2.28 million shares.