Wednesday, Industrial automation solutions provider Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) said it will reiterate its fiscal 2009 adjusted earnings forecast, which is sharply lower than the prior year's results. Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Rockwell said its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Keith Nosbusch will reaffirm the company's full-year expectations at the J. P. Morgan Diversified Industries Conference in New York today.
The company said it continues to expect fiscal 2009 earnings, excluding any restructuring charges, in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share.
On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $1.59 per share for fiscal 2009, with estimates ranging between $1.50 and $1.75 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
In the year 2008, the company had recorded net income of $577.6 million or $3.90 per share, and adjusted net income of $608.0 million or $4.11 per share.
While confirming the forecast back in July, Nosbusch had stated, "Based on mixed results in macroeconomic indicators and stabilization in our own demand trends, it appears that we may be approaching the bottom of the cycle. However, the outlook for the global economy is still uncertain, and we have yet to see evidence of an upturn."
The company's initial fiscal 2009 adjusted earnings forecast was between $3.10 and $3.60 per share, which was slashed at the time of first-quarter results announcements to $1.55 to $2.25 per share. The company then had noted that the global recession has grown deeper and wider than it originally anticipated, and that key economic indicators and projections continue to weaken and the company was seeing a significant deceleration in customer demand.
Rockwell also trimmed its forecast at the second-quarter earnings results announcement to the current range, forecasting a revenue decline for fiscal 2009.
As per a previous statement, the company's fiscal 2009 revenue, excluding the effects of currency, is projected to decline between 16% and 18%, while the earlier forecast called for revenue decline between 12% and 17%.
Wall Street analysts' current revenue estimate for the year is $4.32 billion, representing a 24.1% decline from sales of $5.698 billion reported in the same period a year ago.
Among peers, St. Louis, Missouri-based diversified global technology company Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) in August lowered its earnings forecast for fiscal 2009, based on results for the first three quarters and current order trends, to a range of $2.20 to $2.30 per share from the prior guidance in the range of $2.40 to $2.60 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to report earnings of $2.20 per share for the full year 2009, lower than prior year's earnings of $3.11 per share.
Emerson's sales for the year are now expected to be between $20.8 billion and $21.1 billion, down from the prior forecast between $21.0 billion and $21.7 billion. Underlying sales are expected to decline 12% to 13%, excluding 4% from unfavorable currency exchange rates and a 1% positive impact from acquisitions. Street is looking for fiscal 2009 revenues of $21.07 billion, representing a 15.1% drop from last year.
Switzerland-based power and automation technology group ABB Ltd. (ABB) recently said that visibility remains limited for the second-half of 2009 on continuing uncertainty in its key demand drivers. The company also confirmed its previously published targets for the period 2007 to 2011, with the exception of the Robotics division, which is facing an unprecedented market downturn and requires further restructuring.
ROK closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $44.06, up $0.34, on a volume of 1.3 million shares.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.