United Technologies Sees Sales Growth Ahead Of Break-Up Plan

By Micah Maidenberg

United Technologies Corp. said it expects its revenue and profit to rise this year as the industrial conglomerate works on breaking itself up.

The company announced last year it will split into three businesses, leaving United manufacturing engines and parts for the aerospace industry and the other two companies focused on elevators or building systems.

In 2019, United Technologies predicts $75.5 billion to $77 billion in sales and $7.70 to $8 a share in adjusted profit. The Farmington, Conn., company reported $66.5 billion in revenue last year and a full-year adjusted profit of $7.61 a share.

Shares of United Technologies gained 4% in premarket trading Wednesday.

The company's aerospace units drove growth at United Technologies in the fourth quarter. Overall, the company reported revenue of $18 billion in the quarter, compared with $15.68 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $16.82 billion, according to FactSet.

In November, United Technologies completed its $23 billion acquisition of airplane-parts maker Rockwell Collins. The company said sales related to acquisitions in the quarter, including those from Rockwell Collins, added 4 percentage points of revenue growth compared with a year earlier.

Revenue at United Technologies's Pratt & Whitney jet-engine business rose 24% from a year earlier to $5.5 billion while the unit that includes the former Rockwell Collins aerospace unit reported a 29% jump in revenue, to $4.9 billion.

Sales in the Otis elevator segment were flat while those in its Carrier business rose almost 3%.

United Technologies reported a profit of $686 million in the fourth quarter, or 83 cents a share, compared $397 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The company's adjusted profit rose 22% from the year earlier to $1.95 a share, beating the $1.55 a share analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2019 07:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

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