Rockwell Automation forecasts weaker-than-expected FY profit

(Reuters) - Rockwell Automation forecast its annual profit below analysts' estimates on Thursday, as the company navigates slower automation demand and headwinds from the uncertainty in the current macroeconomic environment.

Shares of the company fell about 4.7% in premarket trade.

U.S. manufacturing activity slumped to a 15-month low in October, its seventh consecutive month of contraction, and factories faced higher prices for inputs.

Rockwell said it expects its current-quarter results to be lower than the fourth quarter, but sees a gradual improvement through the year.

The company had previously benefited from an uptick in demand for its automation products and technology, but the overall slowdown in manufacturing activity impacted the company in the quarter.

In contrast, peer Emerson Electric boosted its investments towards factory automation with its proposed deal to buy the rest of AspenTech that it does not already own at a valuation of $15.1 billion.

Rockwell expects its annual adjusted profit in 2025 to be between $8.60 and $9.80 per share, compared with estimates of $10.67, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Overall sales at the company, which sells factory automation and robotics control software, fell 21% to $2.03 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with expectations of $2.06 billion.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $2.47 per share, compared with analysts' estimate of $2.41.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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