By Rob Curran

Johnson Controls named Danaher executive Joakim Weidemanis as chief executive to succeed George Oliver, who last year divulged plans to step down following pressure from activist investment firm Elliott Investments.

Separately, the maker of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning machinery posted fiscal first-quarter earnings growth and boosted its earnings projection for the year ending in September.

Weidemanis is slated to start as CEO on March 12. Oliver will remain as nonexecutive chairman until July 31, at which point he will be succeeded in that role by Mark Vergnano, who has sat on the board since 2016. Oliver will then serve as an adviser, supporting the leadership transition until the end of 2025.

Weidemanis had a 13-year career as an executive at industrial conglomerate Danaher, most recently as executive vice president, diagnostics and China, and he previously worked at Swiss industrial firm ABB.

Johnson posted earnings of $419 million, or 63 cents a share, for the quarter ended in December, up from $374 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the Ireland-based company logged earnings of 64 cents a share, compared with the mean analyst estimate of 59 cents a share, per FactSet.

Sales rose 4% to $5.43 billion, surpassing the mean analyst estimate of $5.29 billion.

For the fiscal second quarter, Johnson targeted adjusted earnings between 77 cents and 79 cents a share.

For the fiscal year, the company boosted its forecast for adjusted earnings to a range between $3.50 and $3.60 a share from a previous target of $3.40 to $3.50 a share.

Johnson started a chief-executive search in July, when Oliver disclosed plans to step down in response to an activist-investor campaign from Elliott. Oliver noted the company's tightening of its focus during his tenure.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2025 07:39 ET (12:39 GMT)

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