Diversified conglomerate United Technologies Corp. (UTX) on Friday reaffirmed its earnings and revenue outlook for fiscal year 2010.
Ahead of the company's annual investor conference in New York, Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2010 earnings in a range of $4.40-$4.65 and revenues in a range of $54 billion-$55 billion. The earnings outlook represents a 7%-13% increase from reported earnings for fiscal year 2009.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to earn $4.63 per share on revenues of $54.78 billion for the year. Analysts estimates typically exclude special items.
The parent company of jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, Otis elevator, and Sikorsky aircraft also reiterated its outlook for cash flow from operations for the year less capital expenditures to be equal to or exceed net income attributable to common shareowners.
In late January, United Technologies reported a 7% decline in profit for the fourth quarter, hurt by a decline in demand for commercial construction equipment and military aircraft.
The company's net income for the fourth quarter was $1.07 billion or $1.15 per share, lower than $1.15 billion or $1.23 per share in the prior-year period. Revenues for the quarter decreased 5% to $14.10 billion from $14.77 billion in the same period of the prior year.
At that time, United Technologies also said it expects continued challenges in the North American and European commercial construction as well as commercial aerospace OEM markets in 2010. However, some recovery in the company's short cycle commercial business, strong aftermarket content, continued strength in the military businesses and benefits from a weaker U.S. dollar are expected to enable top line to grow modestly, the company added.
In early March, the company's board of directors authorized a share repurchase program for up to 60 million shares of the company's common stock worth about $4.3 billion at current prices. The new authorization replaces a previous program, approved in June 2008 and which was nearing completion. The company repurchased $1.1 billion of its shares during 2009 and expects 2010 repurchases to total $1.5 billion.
United Technologies' board of directors in early February approved a 10.4% increase in the company's first-quarter dividend to $0.425 per share. The increase comes as other industrial companies have struggled to maintain dividends over the past year.
In mid-February, United Technologies' peer, Honeywell International Inc. (HON) updated its earnings and sales guidance for the first quarter, while reaffirming its full-year sales and earnings view.
For the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, Morris Township, New Jersey-based Honeywell updated its earnings to a range of $0.40-$0.45 per share, excluding the potential negative impact of proposed health legislation that was previously included in its first quarter earnings guidance. The company confirmed its first quarter sales to be between $7.2 billion and $7.6 billion.
For fiscal year 2010, Honeywell maintained its earnings guidance in a range of $2.20-$2.40 per share, and sales in a range of $31.3 billion-$32.2 billion.
In Friday's regular trading session, UTX is trading at $71.30, down $0.74 or 1.03% on a volume of 2.03 million shares. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has been trading in a range of $40.00-$72.94.
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