Honeywell International Inc. (HON) reported a loss of $310 million or $0.40 per share for the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $369 million or $0.47 per share a year ago.
Proforma earnings, excluding the impact of pension mark-to-market adjustments, were $1.05 per share, up 21% from $0.87 in the year-ago quarter.
On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.04 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Sales were up 8% to $9.47 billion from $8.75 billion in the comparable period a year ago. Analysts estimated revenues of $9.56 billion.
The company said that the 7% organic growth reflects continued strength in most end markets and the contribution of new product launches and geographic expansion.
Looking ahead, Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote, said, "While we expect a more challenging macro environment ahead in 2012, primarily driven by softness in Europe impacting the short-cycle businesses, we're confident that Honeywell is well positioned to continue to outperform..
While we expect growth to moderate in the first half of 2012, we're confident that we can drive strong sales conversion leading to higher segment margins over the course of the year. The investments we've made, coupled with our execution track record and disciplined playbook, will be key to our continued outperformance in 2012 and beyond."
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