Hartford aerospace manufacturer United Technologies Corp. said it booked $1.46 billion in fourth-quarter profits, down 29 percent from a year ago when it boosted its bottom line by selling off its fuel cell division.
Despite the year-over-year profit dip, earnings per share from continuing operations were up 52 percent for the quarter, from $1.04 to $1.58. That was due to a 60 percent increase in income from continuing operations, which grew by $621 million to $2.11 billion.
In the final quarter of 2012, UTC generated $1.11 billion in income from selling off its fuel cell business and other discontinued operations. In the recent quarter, discontinued operations accounted for just $14 million in income.
Net sales for the fourth quarter were $16.76 billion, up from $16.44 billion.
For the year, profits grew 12 percent to $5.72 billion on net sales of $62.63 billion. Net sales grew by $4.92 billion, or 8.5 percent.
That increase was mainly due to the company’s UTC Aerospace segment, which grew its annual sales from $8.33 billion to $13.35 billion.
UTC’s stock price rose $1.13, or 1 percent, to end Wednesday’s trading day at $116.12.
