(Reuters) - U.S. engineering and industrial software firm Emerson (NYSE:EMR) Electric Co on Wednesday raised its fiscal 2023 outlook and reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, on the back of strong demand for its automation systems in a tight labor market.
Shares of the company were up 2.1% in premarket trading.
The firm has benefited from companies worldwide looking to automate their assembly lines to help meet rising demand for goods amid a shortage of workers.
Emerson now expects fiscal 2023 net sales growth between 9% and 10.5%, up from its previous guidance of between 8% and 10%. It also expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $4.15 and $4.25, up from the previous forecast of $4.00 to $4.15.
The St. Louis, Missouri-based company has been streamlining its operations over the past few years, including executing a string of deals, to capitalize on upbeat demand for industrial automation.
"Emerson's outstanding second-quarter results were driven by strong end-market demand," CEO Lal Karsanbhai said.
The industrial conglomerate reported adjusted earnings per share, excluding the contribution from Emerson's software units merged with Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN), of $1.05 per share for the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts' expectation of 97 cents per share.
Revenue for the quarter was $3.75 billion, compared with analysts' expectation of $3.65 billion.
Separately, Emerson said on Wednesday vice president Mike Baughman has been promoted to chief financial officer effective May 10, succeeding Frank Dellaquila who will be retiring.