Rockwell Automation’s latest financial results were a reflection of the times, as double-digit declines in revenue cut into the automation company’s fourth-quarter and year-end earnings.

For its fiscal year, ended Sept. 30, the company saw sales of $4.33 billion, down 24% from $5.69 billion in fiscal 2008. At $220.7 million, net income for the year was less than half the $577.6 million Rockwell reported in fiscal 2008. Free cash flow from continuing operations was $430.8 million.

Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Keith Nosbusch told analysts on a conference call Monday that the company saw a significant drop-off in business starting in the first quarter. But despite the sobering full-year results, fourth-quarter sales were up 6% sequentially from the previous quarter.

“Order rates seem to have stabilized, but it’s too soon to call it a trend,” Nosbusch told financial analysts.

For its fourth quarter, the company reported net income of $28.9 million, compared with $125.6 million in the same period last year. Sales tallied $1.07 billion, a steep decline from the $1.48 billion in revenue Rockwell booked in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Sales in the United States and EMEA, two of the regions that Rockwell relies on heavily, dropped 30% and 26% during the quarter, respectively, corresponding to steep sales declines in both of Rockwell’s business units. The Architecture & Software (A&S) division reported $424.1 million in sales for the quarter, down 31%, while Control Products & Solutions (CP&S) notched $650.3 million in sales, a 25% decline.

Despite the year’s poor results, Nosbusch told Managing Automation he is looking forward to 2010.

“I would say customers are starting to come out of the heads-down approach of just making sure that they are scaling their business to what the reality of the demand cycle is, and now they are going to be starting to look at what they can do to improve productivity, sustainability, and global competitiveness,” Nosbusch said in an interview Monday.

At Rockwell’s annual Automation Fair event in Anaheim, CA, Nosbusch added particulars, saying that the company’s goals for 2010 are to generate revenue growth of 6% to 8% while producing greater than 20% return on invested capital. The company also plans to generate annual cost and productivity improvements of 3% to 4%.