By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Shares of industrial company Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) fell more than 6% Thursday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings that missed revenue expectations and offered weak guidance.
Honeywell reported an EPS of $2.09 on revenue of $8.66 billion. Analysts forecast an EPS of $2.08 on revenue of $8.73 billion.
The company told investors it was "an extremely challenging operating environment" during the period due to supply-related constraints within its aerospace division and mask demand waning. Their Safety and Productivity Solutions division, which makes the masks, experienced a 10% decline in sales in Q4. The company expects a further decline in mask demand this year.
While the revenue miss had an impact, Honeywell's guidance added more fuel to its share price fall, with the company expecting sales in 2022 of $35.4 billion to $36.4 billion, below the $36.76 billion consensus. Meanwhile, it forecast an earnings per share of $8.40 to $8.70, again below the consensus $8.97.
“Honeywell had a strong finish to another challenging year," stated Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Honeywell.
"Our disciplined cost management, swift pricing actions to stay ahead of the inflation curve, and improved productivity resulted in 60 basis points of segment margin expansion for the year. As a result, our full-year adjusted earnings per share increased by 14% year over year. We also were strong cash generators in 2021, delivering $6.0 billion in operating cash flow with 109% conversion and $5.7 billion of free cash flow with 102% adjusted conversion and free cash flow margin of 17%.”
Shares traded at around $196/share in mid-day action, with the company setting a new 52-week low share price earlier in the day.