Q2 sales flat for Johnson Controls, may be eyeing sale of ADT Alarms business

CORK, Ireland – Johnson Controls International (JCI) plc has reported its fiscal second quarter (Q2) 2024 results, and the company may be looking to divest itself of one of its non-core businesses. GAAP earnings per share (“EPS”) of $(0.41). Excluding special items, adjusted EPS was $0.78 (see attached footnotes for non-GAAP reconciliation). Sales in the quarter of $6.7 billion were flat compared to the prior year on an as reported basis and increased 1% organically. GAAP net loss was $(277) million. Adjusted net income was $533 million.“We are proud of the work underway at Johnson Controls as we delivered another successful quarter, underscored by accelerating sales growth and margin expansion,” said George Oliver, Chairman and CEO in the official release. “We made great progress this quarter in further strengthening our balance sheet. Our record backlog provides visibility into the remainder of the fiscal year and we remain confident in our ability to deliver on our financial and operational commitments as we continue our transformation into a comprehensive solutions provider for commercial buildings.”Part of that transformation Oliver speaks of may be related to recent reporting by Reuters that Johnson Controls may be considering the sale of its ADT alarms business according to sources speaking with the news agency. It follows on the heels of reports in January that the company was considering the sale of some of its HVAC assets. A focus on core business through the sale of assets has been a common occurrence in the security industry lately as businesses seek to return to better profitability in a tough market.“The core of Johnson Controls is our engineered solutions offering. These solutions include commercial HVAC controls, fire and security, and services. Our solutions center around our domain expertise, forming the smart building trifecta of energy-efficient equipment, clean electrification, and digitalization,” Oliver told investors during the quarterly webcast. He went on to add, “The transformation of our portfolio into a pure-play provider of comprehensive solutions for commercial buildings is an opportunity. Once complete, we will be able to flow additional resources to the most attractive opportunities. Part of our commitment to disciplined capital allocation remains ensuring that we are deploying resources to the right opportunities.”The full release is available online at www.johnsoncontrols.com.