< Emerson, St. Louis, MO, sales for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006,  ; were $5.1 billion, an increase of 11% over the $4.5 billion reported in the same period last year. Profit for the first   ; quarter increased 12% to $445 million.
Underlying international sales increased 11%, including strong growth in Europe, Asia and Latin America. This quarter marked the first time that international sales were over 50% of total  ; sales.  ; As expected, underlying growth in the U.S. was down 2% driven primarily by weakness in the  ; residential air-conditioning markets for the Climate Technologies segment, which experienced exceptionally strong growth last  ; year as the industry converted to 13-SEER …
