Hartford industrial conglomerate United Technologies Corp. said Wednesday its first quarter profit jumped 20 percent, citing its efforts to cut costs and boost productivity, The Associated Press reports.
The parent company of jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Otis elevators in Bristol and Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, raised the lower end of its 2010 profit guidance to $4.50 per share from $4.40 per share.
“Continued focus on cost reduction and productivity, as well as savings from restructuring actions, led to margin expansion across each of our businesses,” CEO Louis Chenevert said.
UTC is benefiting from rising orders, particularly in emerging markets, he said. As a result, Chenevert said he expects business growth will resume in the second half of the year.
The Hartford company earned $866 million, or 93 cents per share, in the January-March period, up from $722 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 90 cents per share.
Revenue slipped to $12.1 billion from $12.25 billion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $12.26 billion.
UTC expects earnings per share this year in the range of $4.50 to $4.65, which includes $350 million in expected restructuring charges and one-time gains of $100 million.
Profit rose at each of UTC’s businesses, led by Carrier heating and ventilating. Orders for Carrier’s transport refrigeration and air conditioning rose 37 percent in the quarter, while orders for commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment fell 4 percent, reflecting weakness in commercial real estate markets.
Carrier was among the first UTC businesses to feel the impact of the recession in 2007 when the housing market collapsed. Its refrigerated transportation container business plunged 80 percent in 2008.
Sikorsky Aircraft posted a 25 percent rise in operating profit, to $145 million, due to strong military orders.
And Otis, which benefited from the boom in office construction in China but then fell as China’s economy weakened, reported a 17.8 percent increase in profit, to $596 million.
Revenue fell in UTC’s two aerospace businesses, jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand, which makes airline electrical systems.
