Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI)

[sumisu]

Eco-Awareness Boosts Johnson Controls

Melanie Lindner, 01.18.08, 5:45 PM ET

http://tinyurl.com/4yjhnw

Rising environmental consciousness has helped drive business for eco-friendly builders like Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls (nyse: JCI - news - people ), known for eco-friendly building and automotive interior products and services, said on Friday that its first-quarter profits jumped 45.0% on growth is all of its divisions. The Milwaukee-based company reported earnings of $235.0 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with $162.0 million, or 27 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2006.

Sales for the period ending Dec. 31 jumped to $9.48 billion, up 16.0% from $8.21 billion in the year ago quarter.

Johnson Controls beat the estimates of analyst polled by Thomson Financial, which predicted earnings of 37 cents per share on sales of $9.1 billion.

Johnson Controls operates through three businesses: building efficiency, which designs, produces and installs integrated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; automotive experience, which provides interior systems to more than 30.0 million vehicles each year; and power solutions, which produces lead-acid automotive batteries to original equipment manufacturers and the vehicle battery aftermarket.

In the first quarter, Johnson Controls experiences growth in all three of its businesses. Building efficiency sales jumped 11.0% to $3.2 billion, power solutions sales skyrocketed 55.0% to $1.7 billion and automotive experience sales reached $4.6 billion, up 11.0% from the first quarter of 2007.

According to Johnson Control's executives, the growth in the company's building efficiency sales is attributable to an increased global demand for energy efficient building and a rising concern for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Johnson Controls reiterated its full-year 2008 guidance, forecasting earnings in a range of $2.45 per share to $2.50 per share on sales of about $38.0 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are estimating Johnson Control's 2008 profit will reach $2.49 per share on sales of $38.1 billion.

For the second quarter, the company predicts earnings will reach a range of 47 cents to 48 cents per share. Analysts estimate Johnson Control's second-quarter earnings will be 46 cents per share.

Citigroup analyst Itay Michaeli views Johnson Controls as a "high-quality, well-diversified supplier" with a solid track record for growth. While the analyst noted that the company has a diverse customer and business mix that should support sustainable earnings momentum, Michaeli believes the shares are fairly valued versus operating expectations.

Despite its better-than-expected first-quarter results, Johnson Controls dipped 5.2%, or $1.75, to $32.01, in Friday trading amidst a down day on Wall Street.