Honeywell posted higher sales and profit in its latest quarter but a drop in earnings and operating margin — and disclosed another planned divestiture of one of its business units.
The latest sale, which would see the company part with its Warehouse and Workflow Solutions division, is the second announcement of its kind this week. Private equity firm American Industrial Partners expects to buy the business, which provides conveyors, palletizers, automated sortation systems and other supply chain technology, in the second half of the year for an undisclosed amount.
The agreement followed a Monday announcement from Honeywell that it would sell its Productivity Solutions and Services division to Brady Corp. for $1.4 billion.
“WWS will build on AIP's existing investment in Trew, creating a complementary and differentiated platform to better serve customers across a wide range of industries,” Honeywell said in the announcement.
North Carolina-based Honeywell reported sales of $9.14 billion in the quarter, up 2% compared to the same window last year. Honeywell’s segment profit of $2.13 billion was up 6% year-over-year, while segment margin of 23.3% was up 90 basis points over that span.
The company’s operating income, however, fell 14% to $1.47 billion, and operating margin declined by 320 basis points to 16.1%. Earnings from continuing operations fell 35% to $1.29 per share, but the company noted that adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share were up 11%.
Honeywell officials said the results represented a “strong start to the year” amid a “challenging geopolitical environment.” The company maintained its earlier sales projections in its latest outlook.
“Orders were up 7% with growth in all segments, pushing backlog to over $38 billion, led by buildings and industrial automation,” officials said in a statement.
