In Midst of Strong Third-Quarter Profits, Honeywell Braces for a Global Slowdown

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--On October 17, Honeywell International Incorporated (NYSE:HON) (Morris Township, New Jersey) reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2008. The company's sales and net income were both up from the same period last year. Sales increased 6% from 3Q07, from $8.73 billion to $9.27 billion. Net income was up 16% from 2007, at $719 for the quarter. Of the company's four business segments -- aerospace, automation and control solutions, special materials, and transportation -- the automation and control solutions sector showed the strongest growth. Both sales and profits for the sector were up 15%, bringing in a profit of $430 million.

Honeywell is being cautiously optimistic about the remainder of 2008 and 2009. "We're monitoring our portfolio. We're taking decisive action to prepare for a more difficult economic environment," said Chief Financial Officer David J. Anderson. "Overall, we expect a slower growth environment for the global economy with both developed and developing regions being impacted. We're planning for recessionary conditions in the U.S. and Europe, with growth that is slow in developing markets including India and China, although growth in these regions will still be relatively strong, and the opportunities there for us continue to remain significant," he said.

Honeywell recently announced its intention to expand its manufacturing operations in India, where it has a strong foothold in defense-industry manufacturing. The company plans to increase its workforce in India by about 20%, to 6,000 people over the next three to four years. For more information, see related news article from October 3, 2008 - Honeywell Aerospace Announces Expansion of Indian Operations to Boost Manufacturing Base.

Industrial Info is currently monitoring more than $610 million of Honeywell projects in the U.S. In addition, Honeywell Process Solutions (Doha, Qatar) is acting as constructor for Phase I of a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant owned by Qatar Shell GTL, a branch company of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands). Phase I of the project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009 and has an estimated total investment value of $3 billion. The project will produce 70,000 barrels per day of GTL products, doubling this capacity with the completion of Phase II.

Within the U.S., excluding Honeywell's environmental remediation projects, one of Honeywell's larger projects is a government-sponsored manufacturing facility. At the moment, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology manufactures non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons at its Kansas City Plant in Missouri. The National Nuclear Security Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, has estimated that the government could save $100 million annually with the construction of a new facility. The current plant has been in operation since 1949. Construction of the new Kansas City manufacturing plant is planned to begin early next year. Completion of the estimated $100 million, 1.4 million square-foot manufacturing complex is scheduled for the end of 2010.

View Plant Profile - 1076182 1063925
View Project Report - 28001652 98890086

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.