Honeywell Automation India (517174) Q4 00/01 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY ended Mar. 31, 2001: sales and other income were Rs. 27,589.07 lakh, while reported PAT was Rs. 1,940.48 lakh, broadly level with the prior year despite depressed market conditions.

• Growth initiatives included infrastructure contracts, export engineering alliances, building controls and new home-security products; working-capital performance and customer satisfaction also improved.

Financial highlights

• Sales and other income were Rs. 27,589.07 lakh vs Rs. 27,918.66 lakh; operating profit was Rs. 3,366.64 lakh vs Rs. 3,617.08 lakh.

• Profit for the year was Rs. 2,206.92 lakh vs Rs. 2,484.80 lakh; reported PAT was Rs. 1,940.48 lakh vs Rs. 1,928.10 lakh.

• Reported PAT included a net prior-period credit of Rs. 163.56 lakh, comprising a Rs. 220.20 lakh octroi refund and Rs. 56.64 lakh negative contract contribution.

• Proposed dividend was Rs. 6 per share, with a total proposed payout of Rs. 530.50 lakh before dividend distribution tax.

Outlook and guidance

• Industrial automation outlook remained challenging amid sluggish manufacturing, slow LNG opportunities and aggressive competition; infrastructure, power generation and pipeline projects were expected to offer opportunities.

• HiSpec anticipated strong growth as customers sought lower operating costs and better efficiency; planned expansion included consulting for mission-critical enterprise systems.

• Homes and Building Control expected rapid revenue growth, supported by a growing market, total asset management and performance contracting, particularly for hospitals.

• Engineering-services exports were expected to grow through remote engineering work for Australia, the Pacific and Latin America; product growth areas included infotech, commercial and consumer markets.