Eaton Corporation Posts 4th Quarter Gain

Eaton Corp., a maker of industrial parts and components, said Monday its fourth-quarter earnings were up nearly 15 percent from a year ago, driven by continuing growth of its electrical and fluid power business segments.
Eaton earned $241 million, or $1.59 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $210 million, or $138 per share, in the final quarter in 2005.
The earnings matched Wall Street expectations, based on a Thomson Financial survey of analysts.
Before charges tied to acquisitions, operating earnings per share in the fourth quarter were $1.66 per share, compared to $1.43 per share in the year-ago quarter, an increase of 16 percent. Sales in the quarter were $3.1 billion, 10 percent above the $2.84 billion during the same period a year ago.
For the year, Eaton's profit grew 18 percent to $950 million, or $6.22 per share, on sales of $12.37 billion.
In 2005, Eaton earned $805 million, or $5.23 per share, on sales of $11.12 billion.
Eaton boosted its quarterly dividend by 10 percent, from 39 cents per share to 43 cents per share and authorized an increase to 10 million for its repurchase of common shares.
The company provided guidance for projected per-share earnings for the first quarter of 2007 within a range of $1.30 to $1.40 and for the full year from $6.05 to $6.25.