Cessna, Bell gains lift Textron 4Q profit

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Textron said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income rose 13 percent, benefiting from higher revenue from its Cessna jet and Bell helicopter businesses and its industrial division.

Textron Inc.'s shares gained $2.07, or 5.7 percent, to $38.17.

For the three months that ended on Dec. 28, Textron earned $167 million, or 59 cents per share. That compares with $148 million, or 51 cents per share, in the same months a year earlier. Income from continuing operations was 60 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate by a penny.

Revenue rose 4 percent, to $3.51 billion from $3.36 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $3.41 billion.

The Cessna aircraft unit got a boost from deliveries of 62 new Citation business jets. Volumes rose in the Bell helicopter division and in the company's industrial unit, which makes golf carts, tools, test instruments and other products. Volumes fell in the unit that makes armored vehicles and equipment for the defense and aerospace markets.

For this year, Textron anticipates earnings rising to $2 to $2.20 per share on revenue of $13.2 billion. Wall Street predicted profit of $2.22 per share on revenue of $13.3 billion. Textron's outlook doesn't include the $1.4 billion acquisition of aviation company Beechcraft, which is expected to close in the first half.

In 2013, net income totaled $498 million, or $1.75 per share, on $12.1 billion in revenue.