Honeywell Earnings Undermined by Lower Revenue Guidance

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reported second-quarter 2016 results before markets opened Friday. The conglomerate posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.66 on revenues of $9.99 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $1.51 on revenues of $9.78 billion. Second-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.64 and $10.13 billion in revenues.

The company revised its fiscal 2016 guidance. Adjusted EPS guidance has been increased from a prior range of $6.55 to $6.70 to a new range of $6.60 to $6.70, about 8% to 10% higher than last year. Sales guidance decreased from a range of $40.3 billion to $40.9 billion to a new range of $40 billion to $40.6 billion. Margin guidance was unchanged 18.9% to 19.3%, and free cash flow guidance was also unchanged at $4.6 to $4.8 billion.

Honeywell also announced a realignment of its automation and control solutions segment into two new segments: home and building technologies and safety and productivity solutions. Honeywell also announced top management changes related to the realignment, including the departure of Alex Ismail, who had been president and CEO of the automation and control solutions business. The company said the realignment has no impact on its historical consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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Honeywell’s chairman and CEO Dave Cote said:

In the second quarter, we also continued to smartly deploy capital to position our businesses for sustainable growth, to add to our Great Positions in Good Industries, and to drive shareowner value. Earlier this month, we announced the acquisition of Intelligrated, a leader in supply chain and warehouse automation technologies, for $1.5 billion. This business complements our suite of transportation and logistics technologies with warehouse execution software and other technologies enabling superior efficiency in warehouse and distribution operations.

The company repurchased about $500 million in common stock during the second quarter, lifting its buyback total to $1.6 billion for the first half of 2016.

Honeywell’s shares closed down about 1% at $118.66 on Thursday and traded down another 1% in premarket trading Friday. The stock’s 52-week range is $87.00 to $120.02. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $125.65 before the report.

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