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Rockwell Automation Reports First Quarter Results

MILWAUKEE--Jan. 25, 2006--Rockwell Automation, Inc. :

-- Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.80

-- Revenue up 10 percent; 11 percent excluding currency translation

-- Trailing four quarter after-tax ROIC increased 4 percentage points to 19 percent

-- Now expect full-year organic revenue growth of approximately 9 percent

-- Raising full-year EPS guidance by $0.10 to $3.10-$3.20

Rockwell Automation, Inc. , a leading global provider of industrial automation power, control and information solutions, today reported fiscal 2006 first quarter income from continuing operations of $145.7 million ($0.80 per share) compared to $122.1 million ($0.65 per share) in fiscal 2005. Net income, which includes discontinued operations, was also $145.7 million ($0.80 per share) this quarter compared to $133.4 million ($0.71 per share) in fiscal 2005. Income from discontinued operations in the year ago quarter reflected a net tax benefit of $11.3 million ($0.06 per share) resulting from a prior year tax refund of a divested business.

Sales for the first quarter were $1,301.4 million, up 10 percent compared to $1,184.9 million in the first quarter of 2005. Adjusted for the impact of currency translation, sales increased 11 percent. Segment operating earnings in the first quarter were $248.4 million, up 16 percent compared to $213.6 million in the first quarter of 2005.

Keith Nosbusch, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "This quarter's results once again demonstrate the unique strengths of our business model. We remain intensely focused on executing our strategy of investing in high-return growth opportunities while maintaining a competitive cost structure. Our ongoing investments in industry domain expertise and globalization are allowing us to capture share and diversify our served markets."

Nosbusch continued, "Our businesses produced excellent results in the first quarter, particularly in the Americas. We experienced accelerated sales growth and higher profitability in most of our businesses. Our Logix automation platform and our leading power control and conversion offerings paced our growth. This strong start, combined with higher backlog in our project-oriented businesses and continued momentum across industrial end markets, gives me increasing confidence about the results we can deliver in 2006."

Outlook

The company is increasing its full year 2006 guidance to reflect both the performance in the first quarter, and better full-year visibility. The company now expects full-year 2006 revenue growth excluding currency translation to be approximately 9 percent, which is at the high end of our prior range. The company is raising guidance for diluted earnings per share from continuing operations by $0.10, to $3.10 - $3.20, and adjusting free cash flow guidance upward by $20 million to $300 million to reflect the higher earnings.

For the fiscal second quarter, as was the case in 2005, the company expects to experience typical seasonality in customer capital spending. This could result in sequentially lower daily sales volume and a less profitable revenue mix versus the favorable first quarter results.

Following is a discussion of first quarter results for each business.

Control Systems

Control Systems first quarter sales were $1,072.1 million, an increase of 9 percent compared to $985.5 million in the first quarter of 2005. Currency translation reduced reported revenue growth by 1 percentage point. Our Logix integrated architecture platform grew by more than 25 percent. From a regional perspective, sales in the U.S. increased 14 percent in the quarter, while non-U.S. sales increased 5 percent, excluding the effect of currency translation. Growth remained strong in Canada, Latin America and several Asia-Pacific countries, especially China. Segment operating earnings were $211.4 million, an increase of 11 percent compared to $190.0 million in the first quarter of 2005. Profitability benefited from volume, productivity efforts, and price, which were partially offset by inflation and a $9.2 million facilities charge in Europe. Control Systems return on sales was 19.7 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to 19.3 percent in 2005.

Power Systems

Power Systems first quarter sales were a higher than expected $229.3 million, an increase of 15 percent compared to sales of $199.4 million in the 2005 first quarter. Segment operating earnings increased 57 percent to $37.0 million, compared to $23.6 million in the first quarter of 2005. The increase in segment operating earnings was driven by higher volume, price increases, and productivity improvements, the combination of which more than offset higher material costs. Power Systems return on sales was 16.1 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to 11.8 percent in 2005.

General Corporate - Net

First quarter general corporate expenses were $22.3 million compared to $16.0 million in the 2005 first quarter. Expenses were higher due to a $5.0 million contribution to the company's charitable corporation, and the inclusion of stock compensation expense.

Income Taxes

The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2006 was 31 percent and included the beneficial resolution of a foreign tax matter. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2005 was 32 percent. For the full year 2006 the company expects an effective tax rate of approximately 34 percent, which presumes a rate of approximately 35 percent for the remainder of 2006.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow for the first quarter of 2006 was a use of cash of $213.4 million and included the contribution of $450 million pre-tax to the company's pension trust in early October. First quarter 2005 free cash flow was $90.4 million.

Free cash flow and ROIC are non-GAAP measures that are defined in the attachments to this release under "Other Supplemental Information".

A conference call to discuss financial results will take place at 10 a.m. EST Jan. 25, 2006. The call will be webcast and accessible via the Rockwell The company brings together leading brands in industrial automation for Complete Automation solutions, including Allen-Bradley(R) controls and services, Dodge(R) mechanical power transmission products, Reliance(R) motors and drives, and Rockwell Software(R) factory management software. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisc., the company employs about 21,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.

                      ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
                    SALES AND EARNINGS INFORMATION
               (in millions, except per share amounts)


                                                  Three Months Ended
                                                     December 31,
                                                 ---------------------
                                                    2005       2004
                                                 ---------- ----------
Sales
     Control Systems                              $1,072.1     $985.5
     Power Systems                                   229.3      199.4
                                                 ---------- ----------
Total Sales                                       $1,301.4   $1,184.9
                                                 ========== ==========

Segment Operating Earnings
     Control Systems                                $211.4     $190.0
     Power Systems                                    37.0       23.6
                                                 ---------- ----------
Total Segment Operating Earnings                     248.4      213.6

Purchase accounting depreciation and amortization     (2.8)      (6.9)
General corporate - net                              (22.3)     (16.0)
Interest expense                                     (13.5)     (11.1)
                                                 ---------- ----------

Income from continuing operations before 
 income taxes                                        209.8      179.6
Income tax provision                                 (64.1)     (57.5)
                                                 ---------- ----------

Income from continuing operations                    145.7      122.1
Income from discontinued operations (1)                  -       11.3
                                                 ---------- ----------

Net income                                          $145.7     $133.4
                                                 ========== ==========

Diluted Earnings Per Share:
     Continuing operations                           $0.80      $0.65
     Discontinued operations (1)                         -       0.06
                                                 ---------- ----------

     Net Income                                      $0.80      $0.71
                                                 ========== ==========

Average Diluted Shares                               182.3      189.1
                                                 ========== ==========


(1) The quarter ended December 31, 2004 includes a net tax benefit
    related to a prior year state tax refund.



                      ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
                       CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET
                            (in millions)


                                          December 31,   September 30,
                                              2005           2005
                                          -------------  -------------
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents                       $246.7         $463.6
Receivables                                      793.7          799.6
Inventories                                      595.7          569.9
Deferred income taxes                            184.2          169.4
Other current assets                             144.0          184.0
                                          -------------  -------------
     Total current assets                      1,964.3        2,186.5
Property, net                                    663.5          774.5
Goodwill                                         815.7          811.9
Other intangible assets, net                     325.5          307.0
Deferred income taxes                             30.1           66.3
Prepaid pension                                  634.7          200.5
Other assets                                     185.4          178.4
                                          -------------  -------------

Total                                         $4,619.2       $4,525.1
                                          =============  =============

Liabilities and Shareowners' Equity
Short-term debt                                 $103.2           $1.2
Accounts payable                                 397.1          388.5
Compensation and benefits                        146.5          214.4
Income taxes payable                              37.5            5.4
Other current liabilities                        363.0          331.3
                                          -------------  -------------
     Total current liabilities                 1,047.3          940.8
Long-term debt                                   747.2          748.2
Retirement benefits                              981.4          977.5
Other liabilities                                260.0          209.5
Shareowners' equity                            1,583.3        1,649.1
                                          -------------  -------------

Total                                         $4,619.2       $4,525.1
                                          =============  =============



                      ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
                   CONDENSED CASH FLOW INFORMATION
                            (in millions)


                                                    Three Months Ended
                                                       December 31,
                                                    ------------------
                                                      2005      2004
                                                    --------  --------
Continuing Operations:

Operating Activities:
Income from continuing operations                    $145.7    $122.1
Adjustments to arrive at cash provided by 
 operating activities:
     Depreciation                                      30.4      38.9
     Amortization of intangible assets                  5.2       7.3
     Share-based compensation expense                   6.8         -
     Retirement benefit expense                        29.3      22.3
     Pension trust contributions                     (455.5)    (54.3)
     Net loss (gain) on disposition of property         1.2      (0.8)
     Income tax benefit from the exercise of stock
      options                                           0.3      25.8
     Excess income tax benefit from the exercise 
      of stock options                                (11.3)        -
     Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding 
      effects of foreign currency adjustments:
          Receivables                                   2.0      12.1
          Inventories                                 (27.5)    (23.4)
          Accounts payable                             10.1     (35.7)
          Compensation and benefits                   (66.6)    (69.0)
          Income taxes                                114.8      39.4
          Other assets and liabilities                 17.6      17.6
                                                    --------  --------

Cash (used for) provided by operating activities     (197.5)    102.3
                                                    --------  --------

Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures                                  (27.2)    (11.9)
Acquisition of business                               (25.4)        -
Purchase of short-term investments                        -     (14.9)
Proceeds from sale of property                        147.5       5.5
                                                    --------  --------

Cash provided by (used for) investing activities       94.9     (21.3)
                                                    --------  --------

Financing Activities:
Net issuance of short-term debt                       102.0         -
Cash dividends                                        (40.3)    (30.5)
Purchases of treasury stock                          (201.1)   (116.4)
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options            17.4      45.4
Excess income tax benefit from the exercise of 
 stock options                                         11.3         -
Other financing activities                              0.1      (1.0)
                                                    --------  --------

Cash used for financing activities                   (110.6)   (102.5)
                                                    --------  --------

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash                (3.7)     (3.0)
                                                    --------  --------

Cash used for continuing operations                  (216.9)    (24.5)
Cash provided by discontinued operations                  -      18.4
                                                    --------  --------

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents               $(216.9)    $(6.1)
                                                    ========  ========



                      ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
                   OTHER SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
                            (in millions)

Free Cash Flow
--------------

Our definition of free cash flow, which is a non-GAAP financial
measure, takes into consideration capital investments required to
maintain the operations of our businesses and execute our strategy. In
the first quarter of 2006 we adopted SFAS 123(R), which requires that
we report excess tax benefits from the exercise of stock options as a
financing cash flow rather than as an operating cash flow. We have
added this benefit back to our operating cash flow to present free
cash flow on a basis that is consistent with our historical
presentation.

In our opinion, free cash flow provides useful information to
investors regarding our ability to generate cash from business
operations that is available for acquisitions and other investments,
service of debt principal, dividends and share repurchases. We use
free cash flow as one measure to monitor and evaluate performance. Our
definition of free cash flow may be different from definitions used by
other companies.

The following table summarizes free cash flow by quarter:

                                       Quarter Ended
                     -------------------------------------------------
                     Dec. 31,  March 31, June 30,  Sept. 30, Dec. 31,
                       2004      2005      2005      2005      2005
                     --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

Cash provided by
 operating activities  $102.3    $182.2    $181.0    $173.4   $(197.5)
Capital expenditures    (11.9)    (50.5)    (23.3)    (38.4)    (27.2)
Tax benefit from
 stock option
 exercises                  -         -         -         -      11.3
                     --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Free cash flow          $90.4    $131.7    $157.7    $135.0   $(213.4)
                     ========= ========= ========= ========= =========


Effect of Changes in Currency Exchange Rates on Sales
-----------------------------------------------------



The following is a reconciliation of reported sales to sales excluding
the effect of changes in currency exchange rates for the quarter ended
December 31, 2005 compared to sales for the quarter ended December 31,
2004:

                                     Quarter Ended December 31,
                               ---------------------------------------
                                            2005                2004
                               ----------------------------- ---------
                                                     Sales
                                                   Excluding
                                         Effect of Effect of
                                          Changes   Changes
                                             in        in
                                 Sales    Currency  Currency   Sales
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------

United States                    $818.6     $(0.6)   $818.0    $721.6
Canada                             88.5      (3.0)     85.5      75.3
Europe, Middle East, Africa       191.2      16.2     207.4     207.1
Asia-Pacific                      132.4       0.3     132.7     123.7
Latin America                      70.7      (5.6)     65.1      57.2
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------
     Total                     $1,301.4      $7.3  $1,308.7  $1,184.9
                               ========= ========= ========= =========

The following is a reconciliation for the Control Systems segment of
reported sales to sales excluding the effect of changes in currency
exchange rates for the quarter ended December 31, 2005 compared to
sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2004:


                                     Quarter Ended December 31,
                               ---------------------------------------
                                            2005                2004
                               ----------------------------- ---------
                                                     Sales
                                                   Excluding
                                         Effect of Effect of   
                                          Changes   Changes   
                                             in        in
                                 Sales    Currency  Currency   Sales
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------

United States                    $621.8     $(0.5)   $621.3    $547.0
Canada                             77.8      (2.6)     75.2      67.8
Europe, Middle East, Africa       187.3      16.1     203.4     202.8
Asia-Pacific                      124.1       0.4     124.5     116.1
Latin America                      61.1      (5.4)     55.7      51.8
                               --------- --------- --------- ---------
     Total                     $1,072.1      $8.0  $1,080.1    $985.5
                               ========= ========= ========= =========



                      ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC.
                    OTHER SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
                            (in millions)

Return On Invested Capital
--------------------------

Our press release contains information regarding Return On Invested
Capital (ROIC), which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Management
believes that ROIC is useful to investors as a measure of performance
and of the effectiveness of the use of capital in its operations.
Management uses ROIC as one measure to monitor and evaluate the
performance of the company. Our measure of ROIC is likely to differ
from that used by other companies. We define ROIC as the percentage
resulting from the following calculation:

      (a) Income from continuing operations before accounting change,
      if any, and before interest expense, income tax provision, and
      purchase accounting depreciation and amortization, divided by;

      (b) average invested capital for the year, calculated as a five
      quarter rolling average using the sum of short-term debt, long-
      term debt, shareowners' equity, cumulative impairments of
      goodwill and intangibles required under SFAS No. 142, and
      accumulated amortization of goodwill and other intangible
      assets, minus cash and cash equivalents, multiplied by;

      (c) one minus the adjusted effective tax rate for the period, 
      the adjusted effective tax rate is calculated by excluding the
      effect of extraordinary separately reported tax items in 
      continuing operations.


ROIC is calculated as follows:

                                                  Twelve Months Ended
                                                      December 31,
                                                  --------------------
                                                    2005       2004
                                                  ---------  ---------

(a) Return
Income from continuing operations                   $542.0     $419.4
Interest expense                                      48.2       42.3
Income tax provision                                 225.2      122.9
Purchase accounting depreciation and amortization     10.6       27.3
                                                  --------------------
     Return                                          826.0      611.9
                                                  --------------------

(b) Average Invested Capital
Short-term debt                                       21.0        1.9
Long-term debt                                       750.1      758.1
Shareowners' equity                                1,814.6    1,763.8
Impairments of goodwill and intangibles              108.0      108.0
Accumulated amortization of goodwill and
 intangibles                                         664.8      649.9
Cash and cash equivalents                           (426.3)    (388.1)
                                                  ---------  ---------
     Average invested capital                      2,932.2    2,893.6
                                                  ---------  ---------

(c) Adjusted Effective Tax Rate
Income tax provision                                 225.2      122.9
Separately reported tax items in continuing
 operations                                          197.0       34.5
                                                  --------------------
     Income tax provision before separately 
      reported tax items in continuing 
      operations                                     244.9      157.4
                                                  ---------  ---------

Income from continuing operations before income
 taxes                                              $767.2     $542.3
                                                  ---------  ---------

     Adjusted effective tax rate                      31.9%      29.0%
                                                  ---------  ---------

(a) / (b) x (1-c) Return On Invested Capital          19.2%      15.0%
                                                  =========  =========