Emerson (NYSE: EMR), St. Louis, MO, reported sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, of $5.6 billion, a 1 percent increase from the previous year, with underlying sales up 3 percent. Profit increased 2.4 percent to $477 million.
Global market conditions reflected slowly improving business investment with mixed demand among industries, as the U.S. grew 3 percent, Asia grew 10 percent, and Europe was flat. Strong emerging market growth was led by a 14 percent increase in China.
"Although uneven across markets, overall global demand reflects slowly improving business confidence and macroeconomic momentum, particularly in Europe," said CEO David N. Farr. "We continue to see encouraging progress on strategic growth initiatives – especially in emerging markets – with promising opportunities for further investment."
Process management sales grew 8 percent, with underlying sales increasing 5 percent. Industrial automation sales increased 1 percent due to a 1 percent contribution from currency translation. Network power sales decreased 11 percent, with underlying sales up 2 percent. Climate Technologies net and underlying sales each grew 5 percent, led by strong demand in the transportation refrigeration business and supported by stable conditions in air conditioning markets. Commercial and residential solutions net and underlying sales increased 3 percent.
