MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - Rockwell Automation blames higher employee pension costs for a 12 percent drop in its profits.

The Milwaukee-based maker of industrial equipment and software reports a net income of $161 million from October to December, which is the first quarter of its fiscal year.

Profits were down by $22 million from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings totaled $1.14 a share for the last quarter, down from $1.27 the previous year.

Rockwell Automation had a one-percent increase in revenues from a year ago, due partially to higher sales for architecture-related control products and solution segments. Revenues totaled almost $1.5 billion for the quarter, slightly more than what Wall Street analysts expected.

Rockwell CEO Keith Nosbusch said strong growth in the U.S. and Latin American countries was offset by a weak performance in other parts of the world. The company did not revise its forecast for the rest of the fiscal year.