Rockwell Profit Soars 14%; Woolworth’s Tumbles 49%
On the strength of its electronics business, Rockwell International posted profits up 14% to $152.4 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared to last year’s net income of $133.9 million. Sales in the quarter were $3 billion, down from $3.2 billion last year.
Rockwell Chairman Donald Beall termed the results “pretty good” given the difficult market conditions in the firm’s automotive, graphics and aerospace markets. While Beall believes that those markets have emerged from the recession, he said Rockwell’s performance will be down in the first half of the next fiscal year, but recover in the second half.
The diversified El Segundo-based manufacturer reported that for the year ended Sept. 30, it earned $600.5 million on sales of $11.9 billion, down from the prior year’s earnings of $624.3 million on sales of $12.4 billion.
Although the aerospace business continues to face relentless pressure, Rockwell posted an unusual $1.4-billion increase in its aerospace backlog, thanks to a service contract for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and for structural work on the Boeing 777 jetliner, Beall said.
Rockwell’s automotive, aerospace and graphics segments all posted declines in earnings in the fourth quarter, offset by a sharp jump in electronics. Within the electronics business, the firm’s Allen-Bradley industrial controls unit and some other commercial businesses posted lower results, but those declines were offset by sales of modems and defense electronics.
Rockwell’s aerospace earnings for the quarter declined to $80.2 million from $97.4 million.
Beall also noted that as a result of a restructuring in the fourth quarter, during which it closed some plants and consolidated product lines in its commercial businesses, the firm will eventually cut its operating costs by $100 million annually.
Earnings, D13
