EVERETT - Fortive Corporation ('Fortive') (NYSE: FTV) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023.
For the fourth quarter, net earnings were $265 million. For the same period, adjusted net earnings were $349 million. Diluted net earnings per share for the fourth quarter was $0.75. For the same period, adjusted diluted net earnings per share was $0.98.
For the fourth quarter, revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $1.58 billion, which included core revenue growth of 3%.
For the full year, net earnings were $866 million. For the same period, adjusted net earnings were $1.2 billion. Diluted net earnings per share for the full year was $2.43. For the same period, adjusted diluted net earnings per share was $3.43.
For the full year, revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $6.07 billion, which included core revenue growth of 5%.
James A. Lico, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, 'Fortive generated outstanding operating performance in the fourth quarter and 2023. Our transformed portfolio of businesses is delivering more consistent and profitable through-cycle growth. Throughout 2023, we focused on unleashing the power of the Fortive Business System, helping to drive operational and commercial success, record margins, and accelerated returns on organic and inorganic investments.'
For the first quarter of 2024, Fortive anticipates revenue of approximately $1.5 billion, diluted net earnings per share of $0.44 to $0.47 and adjusted diluted net earnings per share of $0.77 to $0.80.
For the full year 2024, Fortive anticipates revenue of approximately $6.4 billion to $6.5 billion, diluted net earnings per share of $2.58 to $2.70, and adjusted diluted net earnings per share of $3.73 to $3.85.
Mr. Lico continued, 'We remain committed to our strategy and its success is evident given the breadth of our results that are compounding over time. We are confident in our 2024 outlook, sustaining our multi-year track record of mid-single-digit core growth and mid-teens compounded earnings and free cash flow annually since 2019. Our acceleration of disciplined capital deployment, as demonstrated in 2023, further positions Fortive as a premier company delivering higher growth cash compounding and fueling our value creation flywheel.'
Recent Developments
On January 3, 2024, we completed the acquisition of EA Elektro-Automatik (EA) Holding GmbH, enhancing our position in electronic test and measurement solutions within the Precision Technologies segment. EA's expected financial performance has been included in the full-year 2024 outlook.
In 2023, we entered into an agreement to optimize our real estate footprint within our Precision Technologies Segment for proceeds of approximately $90 million. We expect the transaction to be completed in the first half of 2024, with a gain from the transaction recognized at the time of closing.
We recently discovered that Gems Setra, one of our subsidiaries, made certain incorrect representations regarding its status as a small business concern as defined by the Small Business Act for certain contracts that it was awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency ('DLA'). As a result, on January 26, 2024, we voluntarily notified the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General ('OIG') and the DLA of this matter. While we are continuing to investigate, we currently do not expect this matter to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
ABOUT FORTIVE
Fortive is a provider of essential technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of attractive end-markets. Fortive's strategic segments - Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions include well-known brands with leading positions in their markets. The company's businesses design, develop, service, manufacture, and market professional and engineered products, software, and services, building upon leading brand names, innovative technologies, and significant market positions. Fortive is headquartered in Everett, Washington and employs a team of more than 18,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative employees in more than 50 countries around the world. With a culture rooted in continuous improvement, the core of our company's operating model is the Fortive Business System.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this earnings release also references 'adjusted net earnings,' 'adjusted diluted net earnings per share,' 'free cash flow,' and 'core revenue growth,' which are non-GAAP financial measures. The reasons why we believe these measures, when used in conjunction with the GAAP financial measures, provide useful information to investors, how management uses such non-GAAP financial measures, a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and other information relating to these measures are included in the supplemental reconciliation schedule attached. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the GAAP financial measures, but should instead be read in conjunction with the GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures used by Fortive in this release may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including statements regarding anticipated financial results, business and acquisition opportunities, economic conditions, industry trends, future prospects, shareholder value, and any other statements identified by their use of words like 'anticipate,' 'expect,' 'believe,' 'outlook,' 'guidance,' 'target,' or 'will' or other words of similar meaning are 'forward-looking' statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These factors include, among other things: deterioration of or instability in the economy, the markets we serve, international trade policies, the condition of the financial markets and the banking systems, security breaches or other disruptions of our information technology systems, the spread of, and the future resurgence of COVID-19, our ability to adjust purchases, supply chain management, and manufacturing capacity to reflect market conditions and customer demand, reliance on sole sources of supply, changes in relations with China, contractions or lower growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, competition, changes in industry standards and governmental regulations, our ability to recruit and retain key employees, our ability to successfully identify, consummate, integrate and realize the anticipated value of appropriate acquisitions and successfully complete divestitures and other dispositions, our ability to develop and successfully market new products, software, and services and expand into new markets, the potential for improper conduct by our employees, agents or business partners, contingent liabilities relating to acquisitions and divestitures, impact of changes to tax laws, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations and changes in applicable laws and regulations, risks relating to international economic, geopolitical, including war and sanctions, legal, compliance and business factors, risks relating to potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, currency exchange rates, tax audits and changes in our tax rate and income tax liabilities, the impact of our debt obligations, including our cost of debt, on our operations, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property and environmental, health and safety matters, our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, risks relating to product, service or software defects, product liability and recalls, risks relating to product manufacturing, our relationships with and the performance of our channel partners, commodity costs and surcharges, adverse effects of restructuring activities, risk related to tax treatment of the separation of Vontier, impact of our indemnification obligation to Vontier, impact of changes to U.S. GAAP, labor matters, and disruptions relating to man-made and natural disasters and climate change. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Fortive does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.
Contact:
Elena Rosman
Tel: (425) 446-5000
FORTIVE CORPORATION 
