United Technologies Posts Profit, Affirms Outlook

Diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies said profit rose 8 percent, as growth in its jet engine and helicopter businesses offset weakness in its air conditioner and elevator arms.

Fourth quarter earnings came to $1.15 billion, or $1.23 per diluted share, compared with $1.1 billion, or $1.08 per share, a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday.

The result matched analysts' average forecast of $1.23 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue eased about 1.5 percent to $14.5 billion, sapped by the strengthening dollar.

Factoring out exchange-rate fluctuations, revenue would have been up 3 percent.

The company maintained its 2009 profit forecast of $4.65 to $5.15 per share, ranging from a 5 percent decline to a 5 percent rise from a year earlier.

"UTC had a solid close to 2008 in spite of deteriorating end markets and currency headwinds," said Louis Chenevert, president and chief executive, in a statement.

"We saw the impact of difficult economic conditions on our order rates," Chenevert said.

Orders at Otis elevators fell 14 percent and Carrier commercial heating and cooling systems orders fell 7 percent.

The Hartford, Connecticut-based company generates about 60 percent of its sales outside the United States.

Investors are counting on service revenue for its products to help offset weaker demand in the face of a global recession.

Its shares have fallen by about 27.5 percent over the past year, a more modest decline than the 33.6 percent slide of the Dow Jones industrial average. United Tech is a Dow component.

United Tech's main competitors include General Electric in jet engines, EADS subsidiary Eurocopter in helicopters and Switzerland's Schindler Holding in elevators.

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