As communicated by ITW, third quarter revenue of $4.0 billion increased 13 percent with organic revenue growth of 16 percent. The acquisition of MTS contributed three percent to revenue. Unfavorable foreign currency translation reduced revenue by six percent. Five of seven segments delivered double-digit organic growth in the quarter, led by Automotive OEM up 25 percent and Food Equipment up 23 percent. Besides, Test & Measurement and Electronics and Construction Products were both up 17 percent. “Despite softening demand and inventory destocking in certain end-markets, the ITW team delivered another quarter of strong performance with organic growth of 16 percent, operating margin of 24.5 percent, after-tax ROIC of 29.9 percent and earnings per share growth of 16 percent – said E. Scott Santi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer –. Our business teams around the world continue to do an exceptional job of navigating what remains a dynamic and challenging operating environment to deliver for our customers and for the company. In addition, we were pleased to see incremental margins return to our normal 30 percent-plus historical levels in the third quarter as the impact of volume growth, enterprise initiatives, pricing actions, and some moderation in the pace of input cost inflation drove a 130 basis point improvement in operating margin in our base business. While it is clear that the economic outlook is becoming increasingly uncertain, demand remains strong across the majority of our business portfolio and as a result ITW is well-positioned to deliver a strong finish to what has been a very strong year”.
