Power management company Eaton Corporation plc announced that operating earnings per share were $0.88 for the first quarter of 2016, down 13 percent from the first quarter of 2015.
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Operating earnings exclude acquisition integration charges, which were negligible in the first quarter of 2016 and were $11 million in the first quarter of 2015. Sales in the first quarter of 2016 were $4.8 billion, 8 percent lower than the same period in 2015.
Net income and operating earnings for the first quarter of 2016 were $404 million.
Alexander M. Cutler, Eaton chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Our first quarter results are a solid start to the year, coming in near the top end of our guidance range.
“Our 8 percent sales decline in the first quarter consisted of a 6 percent decline in organic sales and an additional 2 percent from negative currency translation,†said Cutler.
“Our organic sales in the quarter came in modestly higher than our guidance.
“We had strong cash flow in the first quarter, generating operating cash flow of $371 million, a record for the first quarter,†said Cutler. “We returned substantial cash to our shareholders during the quarter, raising our quarterly dividend in February by 4 percent and repurchasing $100 million of our shares.
“Our restructuring program is proceeding well,†said Cutler. “We spent $63 million in the first quarter, slightly less than we had forecast at the start of the year. Our expected savings in 2016 from restructuring actions remains the same as our earlier estimate.
“Our segment margins were 13.9 percent, and excluding the restructuring costs incurred in the quarter, 15.1 percent,†said Cutler.
“We still expect a decline in organic revenue in 2016 of between 2 and 4 percent.
“We now believe the impact from negative currency translation in 2016 will be less than the $400 million we estimated at the start of the year. Our current estimate is that negative currency translation for the year is likely to be about $200 million.
“We anticipate operating earnings per share for the second quarter of 2016 to be between $1.00 and $1.10.
“We are maintaining our guidance for full year operating earnings per share of between $4.15 and $4.45.†■