By Shivansh Tiwary
(Reuters) -Honeywell International Inc raised its full-year profit forecast on Friday, as a recovery in aviation markets due to a pickup in travel boosted demand for the company’s parts, software and aftermarket services, sending its shares up as much as 6%.
Booming air travel demand has prompted legacy aircraft makers such as Boeing Co and Airbus SE to increase production, leading to higher orders for parts makers such as Honeywell.
“Our end market setup continues to be strong with ongoing improvement in global flight hours, return to public spaces and elevated oil prices,” Chief Financial Officer Gregory Lewis said during an analyst call.
The company, which builds everything from aircraft engines to cockpit components, said it expects 2022 adjusted profit per share of $8.50 to $8.80, higher than its previous forecast range of $8.40 to $8.70.
Honeywell’s results were also helped by higher sales in the segment that makes fire sensors and security cameras for buildings as more people returned to working from office.
“We think underlying demand momentum in Honeywell’s end markets continues to build, supporting relatively good visibility despite what remains a challenging operating environment,” Citi Research analyst Andrew Kaplowitz said in a research note.
Honeywell also raised the lower end of its full-year sales guidance to $35.5 billion to $36.4 billion from its previous range of $35.4 billion to $36.4 billion, in contrast to its peer Raytheon Technologies which cut its outlook on Tuesday.
Honeywell’s first-quarter adjusted net income per share of $1.91 beat analyst expectations of $1.86 per share, according to Refinitiv data, on higher prices.
Sales in the North Carolina-based company’s high-margin aerospace unit rose 4.4% to $2.75 billion.
Honeywell said it also recorded a $183 million charge and lost sales of about $30 million in the quarter through March as the company “substantially” suspended Russia operations.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
