Ingersoll-Rand Beats, Raises FY EPS Outlook

Global industrial conglomerate Ingersoll-Rand reported a 9.4% increase in third-quarter net income to $266.6 million, or $0.92/share. Excluding items, EPS were $0.96, topping the Street's consensus estimate of $0.88. Revenues rose 10% (9% organic growth) to $2.24B, but fell short of estimates of $2.29B. IR said it continues to expect record earnings for 2007 and raised its full-year adjusted EPS forecast to $3.55 to $3.60. Analysts were expecting $3.49/share, on average. IR forecast Q4 revenue growth of 5% to 7% (est. $3.03B to $3.09B) and adjusted EPS of $0.94 to $0.99, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37B and $0.96/share. IR said it will provide 2008 guidance when its reports Q4 earnings. Q3 orders ex-North America rose a total of 7%, improving across its core businesses. "We again offset several soft domestic markets with strong revenue growth from international operations, new product offerings and recurring revenues," commented CEO Herbert L. Henkel. (Full transcript later). IR repurchased 21M shares of its common stock for $1.1B during Q3. It has approximately $2B remaining of a $4B buyback program. Shares of Ingersoll-Rand fell 2.1% to $49.71 on Thursday.

Sources: Press release, MarketWatch
Commentary: Berkshire Hathaway Releases Latest 13F: Summary of Holdings • JANA Partners Discloses Stake in Alcoa, Ingersoll-Rand
Stocks to watch: IR. Competitors: EMR, JCI, TEX

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