Honeywell International, the leading maker of electronic cockpit systems, on Thursday reported a fourth quarter profit, reversing a year-ago loss, but said higher pension costs will drag on its performance this year.
The conglomerate earned $407 million, or 47 cents a share, in the quarter. That compares with a net loss of $1.5 billion, or $1.78 a share, a year earlier, when it took $1.55 billion in asbestos-related litigation charges.
Earnings matched the average estimate among analysts polled by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 6 percent to $6.2 billion, boosted by the weak dollar and growth in the company's transportation and specialty materials businesses. Aerospace sales were little changed.
Morris Township, New Jersey-based Honeywell said it finished 2003 with $3 billion of cash on hand.