United Technologies Saw Higher Sales In Third Quarter

Third quarter profits jumped 12 percent at United Technologies Corp. on an adjusted basis as all five of the company’s divisions reported higher sales, the company said Tuesday.

The Hartford parent company of Otis elevators and Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines reported $1.65 billion in adjusted profits, up from $1.5 billion in the same quarter last year.

Orders for building equipment from Otis and UTC Climate Controls & Security rose as much as five percent. Last year, the two businesses were folded into a single division, UTC Building & Industrial Systems, in a move to further consolidate the company’s focus along two major sectors: aerospace and commercial building systems.

United Technologies’ chief executive, Louis Chênevert, said the results from the three-month period ending Sept. 30 show “another quarter of solid performance.”

“Along with strong margin expansion and a fifth consecutive quarter of organic sales growth, we’ve seen increased demand for our integrated building solutions and revenue synergy opportunities for our Building & Industrial Systems businesses,” Chênevert said in a statement.

The quarter’s earnings beat analysts’ expectations by one cent, coming in at $1.81 per share, excluding one-time items.

United Technologies affirmed its earnings guidance of $6.75 to $6.85. Gregory Hayes, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a conference call with analysts that there’s a chance to hit the high end of that range.

Hayes said that the U.S. economy continues to improve, while the recovery in Europe is uncertain. One surprise he saw in the results was a slight increase in military revenues due to new development programs. Commercial aerospace sales were up 9 percent.

Overall revenues increased to $16.4 billion in the quarter, with the largest improvements from its Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary and Pratt & Whitney.

Third quarter net income, a broader measure including gains from like tax settlements and other one-time items, rose about 30 percent to $1.85 billion, or $2.04 a share, from $1.43 billion, or $1.55 a share last year.

Hayes also said in the conference call that the company’s would expand its share buyback program for the year to $1.5 billion from $1.35 billion, the second time in recent months the company has increased the number.

Shares of United Technologies stock closed at 101.98 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 0.49 percent for the day.