Rockwell To Forfeit $1.8 Million In Profit In Settlement With SEC

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) said it will forfeit $1.8 million in profit as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission tied to charges that it violated provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 2006 and earlier.

The maker of factory-automation equipment and software also will pay a $400,000 fine plus interest.

Shares were down 2.1% at $85.18 in recent trading. The stock is up by more than one-third in the past year.

The company in November 2006 said it was reviewing actions that involved payments for non-business travel expenses and other business arrangements involving potentially improper payment methods for legitimate business expenses. Rockwell voluntarily disclosed the review to the SEC in 2006.

The charges also include earlier alleged incidents at a subsidiary in China that was sold in a larger $1.8 billion sale of its Power Systems business to Baldor Electric Co. (BEZ) in early 2007.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits, among other things, U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials in order to obtain business.

"These incidents, while isolated, have led us to heighten our vigilance and further improve our training," Chairman and Chief Executive Keith D. Nosbusch said.

Rockwell last week reported that its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 21% on double-digit percentage growth at its architecture and software business and its control-products unit.

-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; [e-mail]