Honeywell, the Fortune 100 diversified technology manufacturer, today announced its fourth quarter and full-year results for 2014 with revenues up 3% to $40.3bn and profit up 2% to $2.915bn.
Sales for the fourth quarter were down (6%) on a reported basis driven by the unfavorable impact of OEM incentives, the Friction Materials divestiture, and the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange. Excluding these items, sales in the fourth quarter were up 4% on an organic basis.
Commercial Aftermarket sales were up 4% on an organic basis, driven by continued Air Transport and Regional (ATR) spares growth, and higher Repair & Overhaul activities. Defense & Space sales were up 2% on an organic basis as a result of strong international growth. Transportation Systems sales were up 4% on an organic basis, primarily driven by new platform launches and higher turbo gas penetration globally.
“In the fourth quarter, Honeywell delivered 4% organic sales growth and achieved 15% earnings per share growth (excluding the pension mark-to-market adjustment), exceeding the high end of our guidance range and capping off another year of terrific performance in 2014,” said Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote.
“Strong execution in our businesses and continued momentum across the portfolio throughout the year helped us to deliver on our aggressive 2014 sales, margin, and EPS targets. We achieved significant margin expansion in 2014 with benefits from our key process and productivity initiatives, and increased organic growth by continuing to ‘seed plant’ with investments in new products and technologies, high ROI capex, and expansion of our global footprint.”
“We remain cautious in our planning with regard to the global economy, but are confident that our balanced portfolio mix of short- and long-cycle businesses is well-positioned to deliver on our 2015 commitments that include higher organic sales, continued margin expansion, and double-digit earnings growth.”
Mr Cote also said that Honeywell was well on track to meet its five year plan (see video below) and expects that improving end markets, new product introductions, penetration in high-growth regions, and benefits from its HOS Gold initiative will drive both growth and productivity throughout the company.
