Honeywell delivers $1.71 earnings per share, up 10 percent

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2017 and updated its full-year 2017 earnings guidance.

“Honeywell reported a strong start to 2017, with over 2 percent organic sales growth, 70 basis points of segment margin expansion, and free cash flow of nearly $800 million that was more than six times greater than 2016. Our strong operational performance resulted in reported earnings per share of $1.71. Normalizing for tax, earnings per share was $1.66, or 2 cents above the high-end of our first-quarter guidance and up 11 percent versus last year, excluding divestitures,” said Darius Adamczyk, President and Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell.

“Each of our businesses contributed,” Adamczyk said. “The commercial aftermarket within Aerospace and the global distribution business within Home and Building Technologies remained strong. In Performance Materials and Technologies, robust demand for Solstice® low-global-warming products drove double-digit organic growth in Advanced Materials, and improving conditions in the oil and gas industry bolstered ongoing strength in UOP. In Safety and Productivity Solutions, demand for warehouse solutions and industrial safety products enabled growth in the quarter.”

Adamczyk concluded, “Our diversified portfolio, coupled with the investments we’ve made over the past several years, drove our excellent performance in the first quarter. As a result of our performance, we are raising the low end of our full-year guidance by 5 cents. We now anticipate that 2017 earnings per share will be $6.90 to $7.10, up 7 percent to 10 percent, excluding divestitures, any pension mark-to-market adjustments, and 2016 debt refinancing charges. We look forward to continuing our track record of performance and we remain focused on accelerating our organic growth, continuing to expand margins by maintaining our productivity rigor, delivering best-in-class returns as the leading software-industrial company, and more aggressively deploying capital.”

Honeywell will discuss the results during its investor conference call today starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

First Quarter Performance

Honeywell sales for the first quarter were flat on a reported basis and up over 2 percent on an organic basis. The difference between reported and organic sales is due to the impact of foreign currency translation, the 2016 spin-off of the former Resins and Chemicals business in Performance Materials and Technologies, and the 2016 divestiture of the Aerospace government services business, partially offset by acquisitions, primarily Intelligrated in Safety and Productivity Solutions. The first-quarter financial results can be found in Tables 1 and 2 below.

Aerospace sales for the first quarter were flat on an organic basis driven by growth in the Air Transport aftermarket and gas turbo penetration in Europe and China, offset by lower OE volumes in Business and General Aviation. Overall, Defense and Space sales were flat on an organic basis in the quarter. Segment margin expanded 90 bps to 22.4 percent, driven by restructuring benefits, productivity net of inflation, and commercial excellence, partially offset by lower Business and General Aviation volumes.

Home and Building Technologies sales for the first quarter were up 3 percent on an organic basis driven by strong performance in Distribution, air and water products growth in China, and the impact of new product introductions. Segment margin expanded 70 bps to 15.2 percent, driven by restructuring benefits and productivity net of inflation, partially offset by growth investments.

Performance Materials and Technologies sales for the first quarter were up 5 percent on an organic basis driven by a continued increase in Solstice® sales in Advanced Materials and strong modular gas processing growth in UOP. Segment margin expanded 260 bps to 22.8 percent, driven by productivity net of inflation, commercial excellence, and higher sales volume.

Safety and Productivity Solutions sales for the first quarter were up 3 percent on an organic basis as a result of higher volumes in safety products and workflow solutions. Segment margin improved 50 bps to 14.7 percent, primarily driven by restructuring benefits and productivity, net of inflation, partially offset by acquisition amortization and integration costs. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, segment margin expanded by more than 300 bps.

To participate in today’s conference call, please dial (888) 349-9618 (domestic) or (719) 325-2385 (international) approximately ten minutes before the 9:30 a.m. EDT start. Please mention to the operator that you are dialing in for Honeywell’s first quarter 2017 earnings call or provide the conference code HON1Q17. The live webcast of the investor call as well as related presentation materials will be available through the “Investor Relations” section of the company’s Website (www.honeywell.com/investor). Investors can hear a replay of the conference call from 1:30 p.m. EDT, April 21, until 1:30 p.m. EDT, April 28, by dialing (888) 203-1112 (domestic) or (719) 457-0820 (international). The access code is 7717044.

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS – TOTAL HONEYWELL

TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS – SEGMENTS