Rockwell Automation today revealed a double-digit drop in first-quarter revenue, even as executives said the company was seeing the first signs of stabilization.
For the fiscal 2010 first quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2009, Rockwell reported revenue of $1.06 billion, down 10% from $1.18 billion reported in the first quarter of 2009. Net income also fell significantly, to $76.6 million, from $118.4 million a year earlier. Still, officials said they were heartened by some sequential improvements in the business, and expect operating performance to improve as the year goes on.
Overall, first-quarter sales decreased just 1% from the fourth quarter. The company’s Architecture & Software (A&S) business unit reported $469 million in sales Q1 — a 7% year-over-year decrease but an 11% increase over the fourth quarter’s $424.1 million.
Rockwell’s Control Products & Solutions unit experienced a tough first quarter, with revenue down 12% year over year to $598.5 million, and down 8% sequentially compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.