Johnson Controls Q4 Adj. Earnings Meet View; Expects 30% Growth In Q1 Profit

(RTTNews) - Auto parts supplier Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) Tuesday reported a profit for the fourth quarter compared to a loss last year, reflecting 6 percent growth in net sales, despite a soft global market environment. Adjusted earnings matched analysts' expectations, while revenues topped view.

Looking ahead, for the first quarter, the company expects earnings to increase about 30 percent from last year.

Johnson Controls also announced its intention to explore strategic options for its Automotive Interiors business. The firm recorded a write-down of Automotive Interiors business goodwill totaling $430 million in the recent quarter. Revenues from the business totaled $4.2 billion in fiscal 2013, with a loss of $13 million.

Alex Molinaroli, chief executive officer of the company said, "While the macro-economic environment continues to be challenging, each of our businesses generated top line growth in the fourth quarter. Even more importantly, they all had significant improvements in profitability."

Steve Roell, who retired as CEO on September 30, remains chairman of the company's board of directors, and will remain in the position until December 31, 2013, the firm said.

For the fourth quarter, net income attributable to the company was $105 million or $0.15 per share, compared to a net loss of $8 million or $0.01 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Results for the latest quarter included net charges of $0.80 per share, while the year-ago quarter included $0.78 per share of net charges.

Excluding items, Johnson Controls' adjusted earnings for the recent quarter were $0.95 per share, while the company posted $0.77 per share last year. The firm has revised its prior-year results.

On average, 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.95 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Net sales for the quarter increased 6 percent to $11.05 billion from $10.39 billion in the same quarter last year, and came above analysts' estimate of $10.99 billion.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, net income attributable to the company slightly declined to $1.178 billion or $1.71 per share from $1.184 billion or $1.72 per share in the prior year. Adjusted earnings for the year were $2.66 per share. Net sales increased to $42.73 billion from $41.96 billion in fiscal 2012.

Providing a preliminary outlook for fiscal 2014, Johnson Controls said it believes improving end markets will enable it to modestly grow revenues in the upcoming year.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the company expects earnings to increase about 30 percent from last year, and adjusting for the impact of HomeLink divestiture, earnings are anticipated to rise around 35 percent.

The company said it will provide full fiscal year 2014 guidance at its annual New York analyst day on December 18. JCI is currently trading at $43.51, up 1.61 percent.