ITW Profit Soars in 2004

Illinois Tool Works Inc. reported revenues for 2004 grew 17% to $11.7 billion from $10.036 billion, while operating income increased 26% to $2.1 billion.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 grew 16% to $3.1 billion, largely from improved demand in North America. Q4 operating income increased 24% to $535.2 million. ITW said its overall operating margin “improved 17.5%, largely due to fourth quarter inventory revaluations related to higher raw material costs in previous quarters.”
Q4 revenue from North American Engineered Products, including fasteners, improved 9%, largely from growth in its industrial and construction business units. Operating income increased 11% during the quarter. Full-year revenues for the segment grew 9%, while operating income gained 13%.
International Engineered Products Q4 revenues grew 28%, while operating income improved 26% from gains in its construction and automotive units. International Engineered Products revenue jumped 32% in 2004, while operating income soared 42%.
“By all financial and operational measures, the fourth quarter was a very successful conclusion to a strong performance in 2004 by our ITW businesses around the world,” declared CEO James Farrell.
For 2004, ITW completed 24 transactions accounting for $624 million of annualized revenues. In addition, ITW spent $1.73 billion to repurchase 18.9 million shares under a program launched in April 2004. Web: itw.com �2005 FastenerNews.com