Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) reported its second quarter 2023 results, exceeding $1 billion in quarterly operating income for the first time in the company’s history.
“The ITW team delivered another quarter of strong operational execution and financial performance. Quarterly operating income grew nine percent and exceeded $1 billion for the first time in ITW’s history, operating margin expanded 170 basis points year on year, and GAAP EPS of $2.48 was a Q2 record for the company,” said E. Scott Santi, chairman and CEO. “Organic growth was three percent as resilient demand in many of ITW’s industrial end markets was partially offset by inventory reduction efforts by our end customers and channel partners in response to stabilizing supply chain performance, which we estimate to have impacted organic growth by 1 to 1.5 percent in the quarter. While customer and channel inventory normalization will continue to be a factor for the next several quarters, we expect stable underlying demand and continued strong margin and profitability performance through the balance of the year. As a result, we are raising our full-year 2023 GAAP EPS guidance by $0.10 at the mid-point.”
Second quarter revenue of $4.1 billion increased two percent with organic revenue growth of three percent, as divestitures reduced revenue by one percent, ITW reported.
GAAP EPS increased five percent to $2.48 and included $0.07 of a one-time tax benefit. GAAP EPS of $2.37 in the second quarter of 2022 included a $0.16 one-time tax benefit. Excluding one-time tax items in both periods, EPS increased nine percent. Operating income grew nine percent to a record $1.01 billion. Operating margin of 24.8 percent improved 170 basis points as enterprise initiatives contributed 130 basis points. Operating cash flow was $790 million, and free cash flow was $705 million, an increase of 68 percent, with a conversion rate to net income of 94 percent. The company repurchased $375 million of its own shares and the effective tax rate was 21.4 percent.
2023 Guidance
ITW is raising its full-year GAAP EPS guidance by $0.10 to $9.55 to $9.95 per share. The company is projecting organic growth of three to five percent based on first half 2023 performance and current levels of demand. Divestitures are expected to reduce revenue by one percent resulting in total revenue growth of two to four percent. Operating margin is projected to be in the range of 24.5 to 25.5 percent, with enterprise initiatives contributing more than 100 basis points. Free cash flow is projected to be greater than 100 percent of net income and the company plans to repurchase approximately $1.5 billion of its own shares. The expected tax rate is in the range of 22.5 to 23.5 percent.
