Rockwell International Corp has reported third-quarter net income that dropped 25% to $167m, or $0.79 per share, but still came in ahead of estimates of $0.72. Revenue rose 2% to $1.93bn. Results include earnings of $36m from the company’s discontinued automotive business. Including a $19m acquisition charge, income from continuing operations for the quarter was $131 million, or $0.62 per share. Automation, the largest business with 59% of the company’s sales, saw a 10% earnings increase over 1996 and Avionics & Communications earnings grew by 41%. Earnings for the Semiconductor Systems business were down and the company attributedit to the transition to the K56flex modem which has accelerated price reductions on older products. Rockwell says it achieved its original goal for the K56flex modem by shipping over 1 million units in June. To date, the company says, nearly 4 million K56flex chipsets have shipped to customers. For the nine months, net income fell 15% to $535m, or $2.48 per share, on revenue up 7% at $5.58bn.
