Eaton Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose to a record and was 29% over the same quarter a year earlier.
The truck and auto component maker’s net income rose to $362 million, or $1.07 per share, up from $280 million, or 82 cents, a year ago. Sales rose 10% to $4 billion.
The earnings were within the company’s projected range of $1.04 to $1.14 per share.
Its truck segment’s operating profit more than doubled to $137 million. Sales rose 31% to $680 million, with truck markets growing by 27%. U.S. truck markets were up 52%, while non-U.S. markets rose 10%.
“For 2012, we expect good market growth, driven by the continued rebound in [North American] Class 8 truck production,” said CEO Alexander Cutler.
“We anticipate our overall truck markets will grow 9%, with U.S. markets growing 16% and non-U.S. markets growing 4%,” he said in a statement.
Eaton’s full-year net income rose to $1.35 billion, or $3.93 per share, from $929 million, or $2.73 per share. Sales rose 17% to $16 billion.
Truck unit operating profit for the full year almost doubled, to $486 million, while sales rose to $2.6 billion, from $2 billion.
