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Rockwell Automation (ROK), CAD-IT to Boost Industrial Automation

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Rockwell Automation, Inc. (ROK - Free Report) joins forces with a Singapore-based leading provider of Industry 4.0 solution and services, CAD-IT, to strengthen its partner network in the county.

CAD-IT joins Rockwell Automation’s channel partners to support the increasing demand for industrial automation and Industry 4.0 solutions in Southeast Asia.  Technical awareness of the usage of robotics and the manufacturing sector's strong production capabilities are driving this demand.

CAD-IT will aid Rockwell Automation’s recently acquired cloud-native smart manufacturing platform, Plex Systems and a cloud-based, artificial intelligence-powered computerized maintenance management system, Fiix. Both Plex and Fiix serve the personal care, food and beverage, household and automotive industries across the Asia Pacific.

CAD-IT delivers end-to-end Industry 4.0 solutions, including additive manufacturing, industrial internet of things, augmented reality, engineering simulation, etc. It has delivered many multi-factory Industry 4.0 digital transformation projects across a wide range of Asia Pacific. The company has a broader network in Southeast Asia.

Rockwell Automation’s Southeast Asian businesses are bearing the brunt of supply chain disruptions, loss of productivity and escalating manufacturing costs as the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on global manufacturing activity. Upon recovering from the crisis, businesses in the region are constantly improving their manufacturing capabilities and supply chain performance. In fact, smart manufacturing, digital technologies and advanced analytics are providing support to manufacturers to improve their operations and processes.

This is to be noted that Southeast Asia is the company’s one of the fastest growing sub-regions and ROK’s partnership with CAD-IT is a strategic fit in the region. The company’s expertise in smart manufacturing and automation solutions and technologies coupled with CAD-IT’s strong regional network and execution competency will enable Rockwell Automation to expand manufacturing and digital transformation solutions offerings to businesses in Southeast Asia.

Strong order wins from software and infrastructure services are driving Rockwell Automation’s Information Solutions and Connected Services (IS/CS) segment revenues with expected double-digit growth in Core Automation and IS/CS segments.

Rockwell Automation is poised well to benefit from broadening the portfolio of hardware and software products, solutions and services. Significant investments to globalize manufacturing, product development, building channel capability and partner network will drive growth. The company is likely to witness above-market organic sales growth by expanding its served markets and improving offerings that will provide it with a competitive edge. ROK’s investments in technology and globalization in the past decade have expanded its addressable market to over $90 billion.

Rockwell Automation expects reported sales growth of 16-19% for fiscal 2022, backed by strong demand for software and cyber security services and a record order backlog. Adjusted earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2022 is expected to be $10.50-$11.10, representing year-over-year growth of 15% at the mid-point. The company continues to implement price increase actions to mitigate the impacts of inflationary pressures, which is likely to improve margin.

Price Performance

Over the past year, Rockwell Automation’s shares have gained 1.1% against the industry’s loss of 3%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Rockwell Automation currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector are Greif Inc. (GEF - Free Report) , Packaging Corporation of America (PKG - Free Report) and Sonoco Products Company (SON - Free Report) , each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Greif has an estimated earnings growth rate of around 16% for fiscal 2022. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised upward by 4.2%.

GEF pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.7%, on average.

Packaging Corp has an expected earnings growth rate of 12.6% for 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has moved up 9.5% in the past 60 days.

PKG has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 22.7%, on average. PKG’s shares have gained 9.9% in the past six months.

Sonoco has a projected earnings growth rate of 39.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings has moved north by 6.9% in the past 60 days.

SON delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.74%, on average. Sonoco has moved up 4.1% in the past six months.

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