Summary
This 8-K filing from Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) on August 21, 2013, provides an update on the company's orders growth for the trailing three months ending July 2013. The key takeaway for investors is that overall orders growth remained stable, indicating a modest improvement in global business investment, though performance varied significantly across segments. The Process Management segment was the primary growth driver, benefiting from continued investment in oil and gas, power, and chemical sectors, with strong performance in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/Africa. Conversely, the Industrial Automation segment, while showing an improving trend, remained in negative territory, as did the Network Power segment, which faced soft demand for data center and telecommunications infrastructure. Climate Technologies and Commercial & Residential Solutions showed modest growth, suggesting resilience in specific end markets.
Key Highlights
- 1Overall trailing three-month orders growth for July 2013 was flat to slightly positive (0% to +5%), indicating a stabilization in global business investment.
- 2The Process Management segment was the strongest performer, with orders growth ranging from +10% to +15% in July, driven by robust investment in oil and gas, power, and chemical end markets.
- 3The Industrial Automation segment showed an improving trend, moving from -5% to -10% in May to -5% to 0% in July, suggesting a bottoming out of the decline.
- 4The Network Power segment continued to experience modest declines, reflecting soft global demand for data center and telecommunications infrastructure.
- 5Climate Technologies and Commercial & Residential Solutions segments showed modest positive growth, indicating resilience in specific consumer and infrastructure-related markets.
- 6Currency translation had a positive impact on orders, adding 1 percentage point to the total Emerson growth and significant points to Process Management.
- 7Emerson announced upcoming investor presentations at the Vertical Research Partners Industrials Conference (September 10, 2013) and the Citi Industrials Conference (September 17, 2013).