US industrial automation and information technology company Rockwell Automation says record quarterly orders in the three months to the end of December have it on track to deliver bumper sales and earnings results this year.
The company has reaffirmed FY22 guidance for sales around US$8.2 billion ($8.12-8.33 billion range) – compared with last year’s circa-$7 billion – and earnings per share in the range of $10.50-11.10.
First-quarter orders were up more than 40% year-on-year at $2.5 billion in the December quarter, while Q1 sales climbed 18.7% yoy to $1.857 billion.
Wisconsin-based Rockwell Automation booked Q1 net income of $242 million, well down on $593m for the same time last year due to “lower fair value gains” this year versus FY21 related to its significant investment in Boston software company PTC.
“Rockwell had an excellent start to fiscal 2022, with first quarter sales up 18.7% and orders up over 40% to a quarterly record of $2.5 billion,” CEO Blake Moret said. “All three business segments delivered double-digit sales growth and continued exceptional execution in this challenging supply chain environment.”
Moret said supply chain challenges remained “dynamic”, with gradual improvement foreshadowed this year.
“We expect very strong growth this year, with total sales up 17.5% at the midpoint of our guidance range despite significant supply chain constraints,” Moret said.
Rockwell Automation’s process industry market segment includes mining and metals sales that make up about 10% of its total revenues.
The company is currently projecting mining sales will up about 15% in FY22 – in line with the Q1 result. It is projecting record orders of more than $9 billion this year.
Rockwell Automation shares (NYSE: ROK) are down about 15% so far in 2022. The company’s market value was $33.29 billion Thursday.
