United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) early Wednesday posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings results and backed its full-year outlook, as demand remains robust for its industrial products.

Written by StockNews.com

The Farmington, CT-based building systems and aerospace giant reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48, which was $0.09 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.39,
• revenues rose 3.4% from last year to $13.81 billion, also topping analysts’ view for $13.5 billion. UTX noted the revenue uptick was driven by 3 points of organic growth and 1 point of net acquisition growth, and was partially offset by 1 point of adverse foreign exchange (forex).

Looking ahead, UTX:

• reaffirmed its 2017 outlook for EPS of $6.30 to $6.60. That forecast is in-line with Wall Street’s view of $6.54.
• Revenues are still seen rising 1% to 3% to $57.5 to $59 billion, which also straddles the consensus analyst estimate of $58.74 billion.

The company commented via press release:

“Our continued execution against our strategic priorities and our investments in innovation are enabling us to meet our financial commitments.

We remain fully confident in our 2017 expectations and our 2020 targets.

Our portfolio of industry leading franchises is well positioned to create significant and sustainable long-term shareholder value.”

United Technologies Corporation shares rose $0.93 (+0.8%) in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, UTX has gained 7.25%, versus a 7.18% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

UTX currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #2 of 73 stocks in the Air/Defense Services category.