Eaton's sales, earnings up on recent acquisitions as it prepares for more purchases

CLEVELAND (July 15)—Eaton Corp. posted revenue of $2.03 billion for second quarter, up 8 percent over the same period last year. The bulk of the sales increases came from Eaton's four acquisitions this year, including the purchase of the Boston Weatherhead division of Dana Corp. Eaton's second-quarter net income rose 6 percent to $93 million, with operating income up 10 percent to $99 million. For the first half of the year, Eaton reported an increase in net income of 36 percent to $165 million on sales of $4 billion, which reflected an 11-percent boost over the year-earlier period. During the second quarter Eaton issued 3.7 million shares, generating net proceeds of $296 million. "We want to make sure our balance sheet allows us to take advantage of what we think are some attractive opportunities," primarily in the fluid systems and industrial segments of Eaton's business, Chairman and CEO Alexander M. Cutler said during an earnings conference call.