Emerson reports weak quarter on hit from supply snarls, raises sales forecast By Reuters

(Reuters) – Industrial conglomerate Emerson (NYSE:) Electric Co missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday, as lingering supply-chain snags frustrated its efforts to tap into a booming demand for automation.

Shares fell 2% in light premarket trade, even as the company slightly raised its full-year sales growth outlook.

A semiconductor shortage coupled with supply woes has weighed on Emerson at a time when demand remains robust from companies racing to add robots and revamp their assembly lines to offset a labor crunch.

The company has struck a string of deals over the last few years to turn into a provider of automation products and services, and recently disclosed a hostile $7 billion bid for National Instruments (NASDAQ:) Corp to strengthen that business.

“We continue to actively pursue opportunities to deploy capital effectively,” Emerson Chief Executive Lal Karsanbhai said in a statement. The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $2.27 billion.

Excluding items, the company reported a profit of 78 cents per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of 87 cents, according to Refinitiv data.

Revenue rose 7% to $3.37 billion but fell short of estimates of $3.43 billion.

Emerson said it now expects net sales growth of 8% to 10% for 2023, higher than its previous forecast of 7% to 9%.