Emerson records 1 percent sales gain
Emerson announced that net sales for the second quarter were $5.1 billion, an increase of 1 percent from the same quarter last year.
Earnings were up 11 percent to $414 million, or 54 cents per share, a 10 percent increase compared with 49 cents in the same period last year.
For the quarter, underlying sales declined 6 percent, which excludes the impact of growth from acquisitions of 4 percent and favorable currency exchange rates of 3 percent. The underlying sales decline moderated in the U.S., which was down 3 percent. Although the rate of decline has improved, underlying sales in Europe were down 18 percent. Sales in Asia continued to improve and were up 5 percent.
"Operational performance and financial results are improving across our business as we expected. We believe that industrial markets around the world have bottomed and are beginning to recover," said chairman, CEO and president David N. Farr. "While the pace and strength of the global recovery continue to gain momentum, we remain concerned about the sustainability of the U.S. and European economies compared to historical recovery cycles. However, we are confident that our aggressive actions to strengthen performance and accelerate growth are achieving what we expected and we feel confident in Emerson's improved outlook."
Sales in the Industrial Automation segment declined 10 percent. The electrical drives business was strong and growth resumed in the fluid power and electrical distribution businesses. The power generating alternators business remained weak, but orders have turned positive.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
