Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 8-K filing by Emerson Electric Co. is dated June 25, 2001. The report provides Regulation FD disclosure regarding the company's trailing 13-month order trends, specifically highlighting the performance for May 2001 compared to the prior year.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing does not provide specific revenue, profit, cash flow, margin, debt, or liquidity figures. It focuses exclusively on percentage changes in new orders across five business segments for the trailing 3-month average versus the prior year.
| Segment | May 2001 Order Change |
|---|---|
| Industrial Automation | -10% to -5% |
| HVAC | -5% to 0% |
| Electronics and Telecom | >20% |
| Appliance and Tools | -10% to -5% |
| Process Control | +10% to +15% |
| Total Emerson | -10% to -5% |
Material Changes and Segment Commentary
Total Emerson orders declined by 5% to 10% in May 2001. The filing details the following drivers for segment performance:
- Industrial Automation: Declines attributed to softness in U.S. industrial goods markets, unfavorable currency comparisons, and moderated demand in Europe and other international markets.
- HVAC: Weakness driven by the supermarket and food service markets, cool U.S. spring weather reducing air conditioning demand, and soft European demand. Asia demand remains strong.
- Electronics and Telecom: Continued growth (>20%) despite broad weakness in computing and telecom equipment markets.
- Appliance and Tools: Declines due to weakness in motor and appliance components and moderate declines in the tools area.
- Process Control: Growth (+10% to +15%) driven by the success of PlantWeb and Emerson Performance Solutions, strength in control/valve/measurement products, and increased customer capital spending in select markets.
Guidance, Outlook, and Upcoming Events
The filing does not provide specific financial guidance or outlook for future periods. It announces that the company will issue its third fiscal quarter results on Tuesday, August 7, 2001. A conference call with investors is scheduled for approximately 1:30 pm EDT on that date, with an audio webcast available via the corporate website.
Key Facts for Investor Verification
- Verify the impact of cool U.S. spring weather on the HVAC segment's order volume.
- Confirm the extent of unfavorable currency comparisons affecting the Industrial Automation segment.
- Monitor the sustainability of the >20% growth in Electronics and Telecom amidst broader market weakness.
- Review the August 7, 2001, third fiscal quarter earnings release for actual revenue and profit figures.
- Assess the correlation between Process Control growth and customer capital spending trends.