Honeywell Raises Profit Forecast Range

Honeywell International Inc, a maker of aircraft cockpit parts and other electronic equipment, reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, helped partly by higher margins in its aerospace business.

The company's shares rose 3 percent in premarket trading after it also raised the low end of its full-year forecast range for profit and revenue.

Margins in its aerospace business, its largest, rose to 20.3 percent in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from 18.8 percent a year earlier.

Honeywell has been able to perform well this year despite a sluggish global economy, mainly due to its focus on controlling costs.

In July, the company merged its transportation division with its aerospace business to take advantage of the similarities in the units.

"Looking ahead to 2015, we're once again planning for a slow growth macro environment, but expect to continue delivering strong earnings growth," Chief Executive Dave Cote said in a statement on Friday.

Honeywell said it now expected 2014 sales of $40.3 billion-$40.4 billion, compared with its previous forecast of $40.2 billion-$40.4 billion.

The company forecast earnings of at least $5.50 per share for the year, up from its previous projection of at least $5.45. It maintained the top end of the forecast range at $5.55 per share.

Total revenue increased 4.8 percent to $10.11 billion.

Net income attributable to Honeywell rose to $1.17 billion, or $1.47 per share, from $990 million, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.41 per share on revenue of $10.04 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Honeywell's shares were up 3 percent at $89 before the bell. Up to Thursday's close, they had dropped 0.4 percent in the past 12 months, compared with a 7 percent rise in the S&P 500 index . (Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)