Textron 3Q profit surges 50.9% to $255M

PBN Staff

10/18/2007

AIRCRAFT MAKERS Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter accounted for 66 percent of Textron's business in 2006, while the Industrial segment accounted for 26 percent and Textron Financial for 7 percent. /

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) today posted a third-quarter profit of $255 million or $1 per share, a 50.9-percent increase from the year-ago quarter’s $169 million or 66 cents per share.
Total revenue increased 15 percent from a year ago to $3.3 billion. Income from continuing operations rose to 95 cents per share from the year-ago quarter’s 68 cents per share; including income from discontinued operations, net income was $1 per share, up from 66 cents per share in the third quarter of 2006.
In the manufacturing segment, Bell Helicopter posted a profit of $976 million, a 14.2-percent increase from the year-ago quarter’s $855 million; Cessna Aircraft posted a profit of $222 million, a 37.0-percent increase from its year-ago $162 million; and Textron Industrial (including E-Z-Go, Greenlee, Jacobsen, Kautex and the Fluid & Power Group) posted a profit of $46 million, or 64.8 percent above the division’s $28 million profit in the third quarter of 2006. Meanwhile, the Textron Financial segment’s third-quarter profit rebounded to $423 million, a 26.5-percent increase from the year-ago $310 million.
Assets at quarter’s end totaled 18.4 billion, up from $17.5 billion at the beginning of 2007.
Third-quarter highlights included a two-for-one split of Textron’s common stock, which began trading on a post-split basis on Aug. 27. (Earnings per share have been restated to reflect the stock split.)
“Once again, we delivered an excellent quarter with strong organic revenue growth and improved profitability,” said Lewis B. Campbell, Textron’s chairman, president and CEO. “Our sustained strong operating performance allowed us to exceed our financial targets while continuing to invest in our longer-term growth.”
The company now predicts full-year revenue of about $13 billion, or 13.25 percent more than in 2006, with earnings per share of $3.40 to $3.50, or 22 cents per share above the previous target. The outlook does not include the potential impact of Textron’s plan to acquire United Industrial Corp. for $1.1 billion, which was announced after the end of the quarter. (READ MORE)
“We see strong end-market demand continuing through the rest of the decade, which in concert with the benefits of our ongoing Transformation strategy, positions us to deliver significant growth in earnings, cash flow and shareholder value,” Campbell said.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is an $11 billion company employing 40,000 people in 32 countries. Its brands include Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. Additional information is available at www.textron.com.

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