Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) has reported its third quarter 2022 results.
“Despite softening demand and inventory destocking in certain end-markets, the ITW team delivered another quarter of strong performance with organic growth of 16 percent, operating margin of 24.5 percent, after-tax ROIC of 29.9 percent and earnings per share growth of 16 percent,” said E. Scott Santi, chairman and CEO. “Our business teams around the world continue to do an exceptional job of navigating what remains a dynamic and challenging operating environment to deliver for our customers and for the company. In addition, we were pleased to see incremental margins return to our normal 30 percent-plus historical levels in the third quarter as the impact of volume growth, enterprise initiatives, pricing actions and some moderation in the pace of input cost inflation drove a 130-basis-point improvement in operating margin in our base business.
“While it is clear that the economic outlook is becoming increasingly uncertain, demand remains strong across the majority of our business portfolio and as a result ITW is well-positioned to deliver a strong finish to what has been a very strong year,” said Santi.
Third Quarter 2022 Results
Third quarter revenue of $4 billion increased 13 percent with organic revenue growth of 16 percent. The company said the acquisition of MTS contributed three percent to revenue. Unfavorable foreign currency translation reduced revenue by six percent. Five of seven segments delivered double-digit organic growth in the quarter, led by Automotive OEM up 25 percent and Food Equipment up 23 percent. Test & Measurement and Electronics and Construction Products were both up 17 percent, Welding up 14 percent, Polymers & Fluids up eight percent and Specialty Products was essentially flat, or up three percent excluding significant 80/20 Front-to-Back driven Product Line Simplification (PLS). At the enterprise level, PLS reduced organic growth by (70) basis points.
On a geographic basis, organic growth was 17 percent in North America, 14 percent in Europe, and 15 percent in Asia Pacific.
Portfolio Management and Capital Allocation Update
Consistent with the company’s previously announced plan to divest certain business units, on Oct. 3, ITW closed the sale of a division within the Polymers & Fluids segment for approximately $220 million, subject to certain closing adjustments. The division has annualized revenue of approximately $100 million in 2022. The gain related to this divestiture is estimated to contribute $0.45 to fourth quarter earnings per share.
ITW repurchased $500 million of shares in the third quarter and expects share repurchases of $1.75 billion for the full year. On Aug. 5, 2022, the company raised its dividend by seven percent to an annualized rate of $5.24 per share.
2022 Guidance Update
Based on 12 percent organic growth year-to-date and current levels of demand, ITW is projecting full-year organic growth guidance of 11 to 12 percent and full-year revenue growth of nine to 10%. The acquisition of MTS is expected to add three percent to revenue. Foreign currency translation at current foreign exchange rates is expected to reduce revenues by five percent.
Prior GAAP EPS guidance of $9 to $9.40 was adjusted to a narrower range of $9 to $9.10 primarily to account for incremental foreign currency translation headwinds and raised by the estimated divestiture gain of $0.45 resulting in the company raising its full-year GAAP EPS guidance to a range of $9.45 to $9.55 per share. For the full year, operating margin is projected to be approximately 24 percent, with enterprise initiatives contributing 100 basis points. Free cash flow is projected to be approximately 80 percent of net income.
