United Technologies tops 4Q profit expectations, trims 2015 outlook

United Technologies Corp. on Monday reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations but trimmed its forecast for 2015 citing the impact of the strong dollar and pension costs.

The Hartford, Connecticut-based aerospace conglomerate reported net income of $1.47 billion, or $1.62 per share. That was up from $1.46 billion, or $1.58 a share, a year ago.

Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs, were $1.88 per share in the latest quarter.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.61 per share.

The maker of elevators, helicopters, jet engines and other products posted revenue of $17 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Analysts expected $17.12 billion, according to Zacks.

United Technologies lowered its full-year earnings forecast to $6.85 to $7.05 per share on revenue of $65 billion to $66 billion. In December, the company also said that it expected to earn $7 to $7.20 per share for 2015 on revenue between $66 billion and $67 billion.

CEO Gregory Hayes cited the company's strong backlog and continued orders strength, but said the outlook was trimmed due to the strong dollar — which can make U.S. exports more expensive — and a pension-related "headwind."

The company expects to double its spending on acquisitions, to about $1 billion this year from $530 million in 2014. It's also spending more on stock buybacks, up to $3 billion from $1.5 billion.

United Technologies shares were down $2.55, or 2 percent, at $62.80 in aftermarket trading following the release of the earnings report.

Through the close of Monday's regular-session trading, they had risen 3 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UTX at http://www.zacks.com/ap/UTX

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Keywords: United Technologies, Earnings Report