JCI--Bloomberg piece from today
<<Milwaukee, Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Johnson Controls Inc., the second-largest U.S. maker of automobile seats, said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 29 percent as record U.S. vehicle sales boosted demand for its interiors and batteries.
The company also said ''total sales growth may be more modest than in 1999,'' and its shares declined 6 3/16, or 9.3 percent, to 60 7/16, its largest one-day drop since October 1987. While the company said it has told analysts of the potential sales growth decline, today was the first announcement to the general public. The stock has risen 2.4 percent this year.
Dana Corp. shares have fallen 16 percent in the past two days after the world's largest maker of light-truck axles told analysts yesterday it would earn less than forecast in the fourth quarter and may fall short of the First Call Corp. estimate for 2000 as North American auto production slows and European replacement-parts demand declines. ''JCI (Johnson Controls) is down because the auto-parts sector is out of favor and investors are circling around to take down the stocks that haven't been taken down yet,'' said Lehman Brothers Inc. analyst Darren Kimball, who rates the company an ''outperform.''
Demand for Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls' auto parts got a boost as U.S. car and truck sales rose to 12.8 million vehicles this year through September, helped by the lowest unemployment in 29 years. Sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 26 percent to $4.2 billion from $3.33 billion.
Net income climbed to $130.5 million, or $1.38 a share, from profit from operations of $101 million, or $1.09, in the year- earlier period, matching the average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by First Call.
In the year-earlier quarter, a $35 million gain for the sale of its plastics machinery division resulted in net income of $136 million, or $1.47 a share. There were no gains or charges in the latest quarter.
For the 12 months, net income climbed 24 percent to $419.6 million, or $4.48 a share, from $337.7 million, or $3.63. Sales rose 28 percent for the year to $16.1 billion from $12.6 billion a year earlier.>>
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