2nd UPDATE: Johnson Controls Sees Positive 2010

Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) said Tuesday its automotive and building-services units will recover during its 2010 fiscal year on higher new vehicle orders and increased construction sparked by federally funded projects.

Diluted earnings for its fiscal year, started Oct. 1, will be between $1.35 and $1.45 a share on revenue of $31 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.44 a share and $30.15 billion in revenue.

Fourth-quarter earnings will be between 40 cents and 42 cents a share with all automotive regions positing a profit. The mean earnings estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters was 39 cents a share.

The company's forecast underscores how its decision to close 30 plants and cut 15,000 jobs - especially in the auto-parts division - will pay off as the U.S. recession continues to ease.

"We can now make money on any auto production above 8.3 million units in North America," Johnson Controls Chief Executive Stephen Roell said during an analyst meeting. The company can also make money when European production is above 14.3 million vehicles. The company now has an order backlog that is larger than any of its competitors.

For the 2010 fiscal year, revenue in the auto business will grow 13% while its automotive battery unit will report a 17% increase. The company produces components for seats, cockpits and interiors.

Automotive output in North America and Eastern Europe is expected to return to 2008 levels by 2012, said Beda Bolzenius, vice president of the automotive experience. He said the biggest challenge ahead in 2010 will be the restructuring of smaller parts suppliers.

Johnson Controls, which provides heating and cooling services, said the commercial building industry should begin recovery in the U.S. beginning in the second half of 2010.

U.S. residential heating and cooling markets also are forecasted to improve in 2010, after more than two years of significant declines. As a result, the building division will have a 3% growth in revenue for the fiscal year.

Nearly half of the Milwaukee-based company's revenue comes from producing commercial building equipment and services, but it also derives well over a third from making automobile seats, interior systems and batteries.

Shares fell 2.4% to $26.49 in early trading Tuesday. The shares have risen about 50% year-to-date.

Johnson Controls will release its fourth-quarter results Oct. 27.

-By Jeff Bennett; Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5542; [e-mail]

(Nathan Becker contributed to this story.)