Johnson Controls Q4 Adj Profit Tops View, But Sales Miss

(RTTNews) - Auto parts supplier Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) reported Thursday a profit for the fourth quarter that nearly tripled from last year, reflecting significantly lower income tax provisions and higher revenues in all primary businesses.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations topped analysts' expectations, while quarterly sales missed their estimates. The company also provided earnings guidance for the first quarter, in line with Street view.

"We ended fiscal 2014 with solid contributions from all of our primary businesses, continuing the strong performance we have seen throughout the year. While the macro-economic environment continues to be challenging in some key markets, each of our businesses generated top line growth in the fourth quarter," Chairman and CEO Alex Molinaroli said in a statement.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company posted net income of $309 million or $0.46 per share for the fourth quarter, sharply higher than $105 million or $0.15 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Income from continuing operations soared to $311 million or $0.46 per share from $54 million or $0.08 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted income from continuing operations was $700 million or $1.04 per share, compared to last year's $629 million or $0.91 per share.

On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.01 per share in the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter grew to $10.98 billion from a revised $10.70 billion in the same quarter last year, and missed eighteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $11.18 billion.

Products and systems sales grew 5 percent to $8.91 billion, while services revenues declined 5 percent to $2.07 billion from last year.

Building efficiency sales edged up 1 percent from last year to $3.93 billion, with segment profit growing 3 percent, and automotive experience sales increased 3 percent to $5.26 billion, with segment profit improving 8 percent from the prior-year quarter. Sales for power solutions grew 5 percent to $1.79 billion from last year, but its segment profit declined 6 percent.

Income from business segment operations for the quarter grew 11 percent to a record $983 million from $889 million in the prior-year quarter.

Income tax provision for the quarter was $94 million, sharply lower than $469 million last year.

"We believe initiatives to improve the profitability of our businesses continue to gain momentum. Our 2014 results provide a foundation that we believe will position us to deliver record sales and earnings in 2015," Molinaroli added.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects in a range of $0.74 to $0.77 per share, while analysts project earnings of $0.77 per share.

In Thursday's regular trading session, JCI is currently trading at $44.75, up $0.33 or 0.74% on a volume of 0.81 million shares.