The company also revised its fiscal 2015 EPS guidance. Adjusted EPS is now forecast to rise by 9% to 11% to a new range of $6.05 to $6.15, raising the lower end of the prior range from $6.00 while maintaining the top end of the range. The sales projection remains in a range of $39.0 billion to $39.6 billion. Honeywell raised guidance on its operating income margin from a prior range of 17.4% to 17.7% to a new range of 17.5% to 17.7%.
The company’s CEO said:
Honeywell had a terrific second quarter capping off a strong first half of 2015. We delivered 3% core organic sales growth and had another quarter of double-digit earnings growth when normalized for tax. We saw growth acceleration in both the short- and long-cycle businesses within Aerospace, continued growth in our commercial and industrial businesses within ACS, and higher volume across our Advanced Materials portfolio, particularly in Fluorine Products. We saw margin expansion in each segment, with a significant portion from gross margin, as our new products, process focus, disciplined cost management, and restructuring continue to distinguish Honeywell’s performance.
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On a GAAP basis, sales in the quarter were down 5% due to the divestiture of the company’s friction materials business and foreign currency translation effects. Segment margin rose 170 basis points, operating income margin rose 220 basis points and cash flow rose 5% to $1.41 billion. Free cash flow also rose 5% to $1.17 billion.
Honeywell’s shares traded up about 2.4% at $106.05 in premarket trading Friday, having closed at $103.84 Thursday in a 52-week range of $82.89 to $107.10. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $114.55 before the report.
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