Illinois Tool Works Raises 2017 Guidance; Q1 Profit Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) announced the company now expects fiscal 2017 earnings to be in the range of $6.20 to $6.40 per share, up from prior guidance of $6.00 to $6.20 per share, with organic growth of 2 to 4%, up from 1.5 to 3.5%. For the second quarter 2017, the company expects earnings to be in the range of $1.55 to $1.65 per share with organic growth of 2 to 4%.

First-quarter GAAP earnings were $1.54 per share, an increase of 19% versus the first quarter of prior year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, EPS grew 21% year-on-year. On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.45 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

First-quarter revenue grew 6.0% to $3.47 billion. Organic revenue increased 3.5% while the 2016 acquisition of Engineered Fasteners & Components added 3.8% to revenue. Foreign currency translation reduced revenue by 1.3%. Analysts expected revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter.