NEW YORK (AP) -- Honeywell International Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit slipped almost 3 percent on a pension charge, but its adjusted earnings rose and the manufacturing conglomerate raised its outlook for the year.
The company cited better-than-expected improvements in many of the markets it serves as well as cost controls. Revenue rose 2.8 percent in the first quarter.
Honeywell said it saw core business growth in turbochargers and general industrial products. That helped its transportation segment sales rise 33 percent.
Some segments, though, were still showing weakness. The aerospace unit's profit fell 15 percent, mostly due to lower equipment sales to regional and business aviation customers.
"While the timing and shape of the recovery is uncertain and we remain conservative in our planning assumptions, the outlook for Honeywell is bright," Chairman and CEO Dave Cote said in a statement. "Our great positions in good industries; links to favorable global macro trends, such as safety, security, and energy efficiency; growth in emerging regions; and strong pipeline of new products and technologies are reflected in our raised outlook for the year and should drive attractive growth over the long-term."
Its revised forecast for the year brought it in line with analysts' forecasts, and its shares slipped 19 cents to $47.25 in pre-opening trading.
The company, based in Morris Township, N.J., said Friday it earned $386 million, or 50 cents per share, down 2.8 percent from $397 million, or 54 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding a noncash pension expense, earnings were 68 cents per share. Analysts expected earnings of 47 cents a share excluding one-time items.
Revenue rose to $7.78 billion from $7.57 billion a year ago. Analysts expected lower revenue of $7.58 billion.
Honeywell now expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.30 to $2.45 per share, compared with a previous estimate of $2.20 to 2.40 per share. It expects 2010 sales of $31.5 billion to $32.3 billion.
That's in line with analysts, who currently predict a profit of $2.42 per share on revenue of $31.92 billion.
