United Technologies 1Q profit jumps on sales, tops forecasts

United Technologies Corp. on Wednesday reported a jump in first-quarter profit on a boost in sales of jet engines and elevators.

The company's profit rose 18 percent to $1.39 billion, or $1.73 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.48 per share, which topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.39 per share.

Revenue rose 3.4 percent to $13.82 billion in the period as key units saw an uptick in sales. The results also beat forecasts, with five analysts surveyed by Zacks expecting $13.32 billion.

Revenue from heating, cooling and fire safety products for buildings rose 4.4 percent to $3.89 billion, while jet engine unit Pratt & Whitney reported a 4.7 percent boost to $3.76 billion. Aerospace systems had a 3 percent boost to $3.61 billion and Otis reported a 3.2 percent increase to $2.8 billion.

In late November, United Technologies' Carrier Corp. unit said it reached a deal with then President-elect Donald Trump to maintain nearly 1,000 jobs in Indianapolis. The company had planned to move those jobs to Mexico. Still, Carrier would still move 550 jobs to Mexico from that factory along with another 700 jobs from a factory in Huntington, Indiana.

United Technologies, based in Farmington, Connecticut, expects full-year earnings in the range of $6.30 to $6.60 per share, with revenue in the range of $57.5 billion to $59 billion.

United Technologies shares have climbed roughly 7 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed nearly 7 percent. The stock has increased 11 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UTX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UTX

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Keywords: United Technologies, Earnings Report