Illinois Tool Works Inc reported improved quarterly results Tuesday, driven by especially strong demand for automotive, industrial packaging and welding products. But the results came in a penny per share shy of expectations, pulled down by a higher tax rate than the company had forecast.
The diversified manufacturer posted a second-quarter profit of $420.8 million, or 83 cents a share, up from $176.6 million, or 35 cents a share, a year before.
Sales at the company, which makes everything from industrial fasteners and adhesives to professional kitchen equipment, rose 20.1 percent to $4.08 million.
But the results were slightly lower than the 84 cents a share analysts, on average, had expected the Glenview company to report.
Illinois Tool blamed the shortfall on taxes, saying its second-quarter tax rate of 31.6 percent was 260 basis points higher than it had forecasted and cost it about 3 cents a share in lost earnings.
