(By Balaseshan) Parker-Hannifin Corp. (NYSE: PH), a maker of motion and control technologies, reported a 19.3% drop in quarterly earnings due to ongoing weakness in international markets and softness in North America.
Results missed Street's expectations and the company lowered fiscal 2013 earnings forecast, sending shares down 8.31% in premarket.
Earnings for the first quarter were $239.74 million or $1.57 per share, down from $297.01 million or $1.91 per share last year.
Revenue declined marginally by 0.6% to $3.21 billion.
Analysts, on average, polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a profit of $1.73 per share on revenue of $3.23 billion for the first quarter.
Sales from Industrial North America segment increased 5.1% to $1.27 billion, while Industrial International sales fell 8.7% to $1.18 billion. Aerospace sales grew 8.8% to $541.1 million, while Climate and Industrial Controls sales declined 4.8% to $230.9 million.
Parker reported a decrease of 6% in orders for the first quarter. Orders from Industrial North America fell 11%, while Industrial International orders declined 8%. Aerospace orders increased 5%, while Climate and Industrial Controls orders rose 2%.
Looking ahead into the fiscal 2013, the company lowered its earnings from continuing operations guidance to range of $6.15 to $6.75 per share from previous forecast of $7.10 to $7.90 per share, while Street predicts $7.50 per share.
The guidance includes an expected year-over-year increase in domestic qualified pension expense of about $0.35 per share due to accounting regulations which require the use of a lower discount rate based on current market conditions.
"The economic picture remains uncertain going into the first half of calendar year 2013. We will continue to manage our costs and maintain a strong balance sheet. We have revised our estimated range for diluted earnings per share to align with changes in global economic conditions," said Don Washkewicz, Chief Executive of Parker-Hannifin.
PH closed Thursday's regular session at $85.07. The stock has been trading between $70.42 and $91.47 for the past 52 weeks.