(Reuters) - U.S. engineering and industrial software firm Emerson on Wednesday raised its fiscal 2023 forecast, as companies increase spending on automation in response to a tight labor market.

The company's shares rose 3.9% in premarket trading.

Companies across North America are working towards automating their factories in order to enhance efficiency and streamline operations amid a shortage of workers following the pandemic.

Emerson now expects its fiscal 2023 adjusted profit from continuing operations between $4.40 and $4.45 per share, up from its previous outlook of $4.15 to $4.25 per share.

The company also expects its 2023 revenue to grow about 10.5%, at the higher end of a 9%-to-10.5% growth it forecast earlier.

The St. Louis, Missouri-based company has been on a streamlining spree over the past few years, including executing a string of deals, to cash in on strong demand for industrial automation.

The company's results were helped in the recent quarters from "strategic benefits of its exposure to attractive-end-markets," CEO Lal Karsanbhai said.

The industrial conglomerate reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.29 for the quarter through June, beating analysts' average estimates of $1.10 per share.

Net sales for the quarter came in at $3.95 billion, above a Wall Street consensus figure of $3.88 billion.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Shailesh Kuber)

Source: The Star