Honeywell International (NYSE:HON), the US tech and manufacturing conglomerate, posted an 8% jump in first-quarter profits and increased its earnings forecast for the year, fueled by strong results from its aerospace division.
In the first three months until the close of March, Honeywell reported that its net income rose to US$1.4bn, or US$1.89 per share, up from US$1.3bn, or US$1.71 per share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, Honeywell earned US$1.95 per share while its total revenue jumped to US$10.4bn from US$9.5bn in the same period a year ago.
"We are making great progress in transforming Honeywell into a software-industrial leader. In the first quarter, we had significant new Connected product launches and commercial wins across our portfolio," said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell's chief executive officer, in a statement.
These results handily surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had predicted that Honeywell would earn US$1.89 per share on an adjusted basis, with revenue of US$9.9bln.
Sales from Honeywell’s aerospace group were a rosy spot as they rose 12% from the year-ago-quarter to US$3.98bln.
The group has raised its outlook for the year and now expects 2018 earnings to fall between US$7.85 and US$8.05 per share and its revenues to fall between US$42.7bln and US$43.5bln