Honeywell 4Q profits fall

January 26, 2001: 10:27 a.m. ET

Diversified manufacturer's lower profits miss forecasts by a penny

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Honeywell International Inc. turned in lower fourth-quarter profits Friday that missed Wall Street's reduced forecasts by a narrow margin, citing higher costs for raw materials and strategic decisions ahead of its pending merger with General Electric Co.

The diversified manufacturer, which makes products ranging from aircraft electronics to home security systems, earned $569 million excluding one-time items, or 70 cents a share, down from $630 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier.

The results fell short of analysts' forecasts of 71 cents a share, according to the consensus forecast compiled by First Call Corp., which tracks Wall Street forecasts. Analysts lowered their average forecast of 86 cents a share last month after the company warned it would not meet estimates.

The operating results exclude 39 cents a share in charges primarily associated with asset impairments and environmental liabilities.

Sales rose 5 percent to $6.45 billion.

The Morris Township, N.J.-based company attributed the earnings decline to higher-than-expected costs for energy and raw materials. Honeywell also said earnings were hit by the performance of its friction materials, automotive consumer products group and other units it plans to divest but has retained because of the planned GE merger. Honeywell canceled those divestures in November to help speed up regulatory approval of the merger.

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"While our overall performance in 2000 was below expectations, we saw signs of encouragement in the second half of 2000, with significant contract wins in both aerospace and industrial control," Chairman Michael Consignor said in a statement.

In October, Honeywell agreed to be acquired by General Electric Co. (GE: Research, Estimates) in a deal now valued at $38.7 billion. Regulatory approval is expected early this year, although antitrust officials are expected to scrutinize the deal closely.

When the deal was signed, GE Chairman Jack Welch agreed to delay his retirement until the end of this year to see the pact through. Welch had been scheduled to retire in April.

The deal follows Honeywell's merger with the former Allied Signal in 1999.

Honeywell (HON: Research, Estimates) stock edged up 81 cents to $48.13 in Friday morning trading.