GLENVIEW, Ill. — Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) has reported fourth quarter 2010 diluted income per share from continuing operations of 79 cents, a 19 percent decline compared to fourth quarter 2009 diluted income per share from continuing operations of 98 cents.

Excluding a discrete 37 cent favorable tax adjustment recorded in the 2009 fourth quarter, diluted income per share from continuing operations in the 2010 fourth quarter would have been 30 percent higher than the year-ago period.

ITW said fourth quarter 2010 total revenues of $4.169 billion were 11 percent higher than the year-earlier period. Organic or base revenues grew 9.1 percent in the quarter, with North American organic revenues increasing 8.9 percent and international organic revenues growing 9.2 percent. Acquisitions added 3.6 percent to revenues while currency translation negatively impacted revenues by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter operating income of $579.5 million was 21.7 percent higher than the 2009 fourth quarter.

For full-year 2010, total revenues of $15.870 billion were 14.4 percent higher than 2009. Full-year organic revenues grew 10.8 percent, with North American organic revenues increasing 10.9 percent and international organic revenues growing 10.4 percent. Full-year diluted income per share from continuing operations of $3.03 was 57 percent higher than 2009. Full-year 2010 earnings included a 4 cent unfavorable tax adjustment recorded in the first quarter related to health care legislation and Medicare prescription drug subsidies. Notably, full-year 2010 operating margins of 14.8 percent were 480 basis points higher than the prior year, with organic revenue growth contributing 360 basis points of improvement.

"The company’s fourth quarter performance was highlighted by our stronger-than-expected organic revenue growth rate of approximately 9 percent," said David Speer, chairman and CEO. "We were very pleased with the double-digit organic revenue growth contributions from a number of our key business platforms, including welding, electronics, industrial packaging and test and measurement. We believe these growth rates, along with signs of improvement in many of our other business platforms, reflect continued positive worldwide macro economic conditions. We remain optimistic about our growth prospects for 2011."

In other developments, ITW announced that it has eliminated the one-month lag for the reporting of its international operations effective Jan. 1. As a result, the company will report both North American and international results on a calendar year basis. Prior to this, the international fiscal reporting period began in December and ended in November. ITW said it will provide revised 2010 results to reflect this change prior to the end of the first quarter. Due to the new calendar year reporting, the company will issue its initial 2011 three-month revenue report on March 16, 2011.

Based on the new calendar year reporting format, the company is forecasting full-year 2011 diluted income per share from continuing operations to be in a range of $3.60 to $3.84. The 2011 full-year forecast assumes a total revenue growth range of 11.5 percent to 14.5 percent. For the 2011 first quarter, the company is forecasting diluted income per share from continuing operations to be in a range of 81 cents to 87 cents. The 2011 first quarter forecast assumes a total revenue growth range of 12 percent to 15 percent.