Honeywell trims profit outlook
The manufacturer reports lower earnings in line with Wall Street expectations but says it is not planning for a recovery this year.
BOSTON (Reuters) -- Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. reported a 38% drop in earnings that matched Wall Street's forecasts and cut its full-year profit forecast to the bottom of its prior range.
The world's largest maker of cockpit electronics, which is facing a downturn in its core aviation and construction markets, said Monday it expects no economic recovery this year.
Honeywell now looks for full-year earnings of $2.85 per share, at the low end of its prior forecast of $2.85 to $3.20. It cut its revenue forecast to $31.5 billion, below its prior range of $32.3 billion to $33.2 billion.
"Economic conditions ... remain challenging and we are not planning for any recovery in 2009," said Chairman and Chief Executive Dave Cote, in a statement.
Honeywell, which also makes systems to manage the temperature and security of large buildings, said second-quarter income came to $450 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, compared with $723 million, or 96 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.
Revenue at the Morris Township, New Jersey-based company fell 22% to $7.57 billion.
Analysts, on average, had looked for earnings of 60 cents per share on revenue of $7.68 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
For the year, Wall Street had looked for profit of $2.83 per share.
So far this year, Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) shares are up 3.5%, while the Standard & Poor's capital goods industry group is down 3.4%.
Its competitors include United Technologies Corp. (UTC) in aerospace and building control systems, Goodrich Corp. (GR, Fortune 500) in aviation and DuPont Co. (DFT) in specialty materials. 
