NEW YORK – Honeywell International Inc. said it plans to more than double spending on acquisitions over the next five years, to $10 billion or more, as the manufacturer seeks to speed sales growth.
Making those deals by 2018 may add $8 billion to revenue, pushing the total to $59 billion from 2013's $39.1 billion, Morris Township, N.J.-based Honeywell said Wednesday. Purchases in the past five years totaled about $4.7 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
"We have a great pipeline of potential targets," Chief Executive Dave Cote said in an investor meeting Wednesday. "I'd like to be able to spend $10 billion on M&A; I can promise you I'm only going to do it if it's smart."
Honeywell's product line ranges from car coolants to fighter-jet parts to thermostats, giving the company access to consumer and industrial markets. Profit margins will expand by as much as about 3.7 percentage points to 20 percent by 2018, according to Honeywell.
"Our expansion in key high-growth regions and ability to localize our capabilities is another great example of how we'll drive accelerated growth over the next five years," Cote said.
Cote said last year he was evaluating about 100 companies as potential acquisition targets, with a focus on deals of less than $1 billion because they are easier to assimilate.
The company's finances and increased management experience on buying companies would allow it to "easily accommodate" an acquisition of up to $4 billion, he said Wednesday.
