Raytheon Technologies Corp., an aerospace and defense company, said its fourth-quarter net income increased, driven in part by the recovery of the domestic short-haul air travel industry. However, difficulties in the global supply chain continued to slow results overall.
Adjusted net income for the quarter totaled $1.61 billion, or $1.08 per share, compared with $1.12 billion, or 74 cents per share, during the same period in 2020. Sales grew 3 percent to $17.04 billion from $16.58 billion.
The Waltham, Massachusetts, company attributed much of its results for the quarter and year to the performance of its Collins Aerospace division, which supplies aerospace parts and avionics equipment, and its Pratt & Whitney jet-engine business. Both operations benefited when increased air travel drove up demand for parts and services including aircraft repairs and engine overhauls.
Collins reported adjusted fourth-quarter sales of $4.9 million, up 13 percent from the same period in 2020. Pratt & Whitney’s adjusted sales rose 14 percent to $5.12 billion for the quarter.
For the year, adjusted net income rose to $6.45 billion, or $4.27 per share, from $3.71 billion, or $2.73 per share. Sales increased by 13 percent to $64.39 billion from 57.15 billion.
The company also said it expects sales, earnings and free cash flow to increase in 2022. Raytheon’s outlook includes full-year sales of $68.5 billion to $69.5 billion, earnings per share of $4.60 to $4.80 and free cash flow of about $6 billion. The company said it also expects to repurchase at least $3.5 billion of its shares this year.
