(By Balachander) Rockwell Collins Inc. (NYSE:COL) posted quarterly earnings and sales that missed Wall Street projections and the company revised its full year forecast.
Earnings from continuing operations increased to $166 million or $1.14 per share from $157 million or $1.01 per share in the corresponding period of last year. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.15 a share for the third quarter.
Share buyback plans resulted in double-digit earnings growth, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based provider of communications and aviation electronics products said.
Sales inched up 0.8 percent to $1.20 billion, yet missed market expectations of a 3.90 percent growth. Sales at the company's Commercial Systems segment gained 0.8 percent and sales at Government Systems segment rose 1.6 percent.
Clay Jones, Rockwell's chief executive cited the revision of full-year guidance to the slowdown in the global economic recovery and bankruptcy of Hawker Beechcraft that continues to impact the company's initial projections of the business aviation growth.
Looking ahead for the full year,the company now expects earnings per share from continuing operations in the range of $4.40 to $4.50 from prior expectations of $4.40 to $4.60. Sales are currently projected to be around $4.80 billion, down from $4.85 billion projected earlier. Analysts expect earnings of $4.40 per share on sales of $4.84 billion.
COL stock, which has been trading in the 52-week range between $43.82 and $61.46, ended Monday's regular trading at $49.18.