Emerging nations to lead rebound - Rockwell Auto CEO

BOSTON (Reuters) - Rockwell Automation Inc expects sales growth to resume in the key emerging markets of China, India and Brazil next year, the U.S. manufacturer's chief executive officer said on Monday.

The maker of systems that help factories run more smoothly is already experiencing a return to growth in China, a contrast to its overall forecast for global sales to continue to slide through the first six months of its 2010 fiscal year.

"The emerging markets will lead the recovery," Keith Nosbusch, CEO of the Milwaukee-based company, said in an interview.

The company posted a 77 percent drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit.

Rockwell expects its sales in China to grow at a low teens percentage rate during its 2010 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. That compares with a 5 percent decline in fiscal 2009.

The company also looks for sales in India and Brazil to resume growth, said Nosbusch, who did not provide projections for those countries.

Solid commodity prices are prompting producers in those countries to invest in new equipment, Nosbusch said.

"We haven't seen any more deterioration in the prices," Nosbusch said. "Copper prices are good, other mineral prices have stayed reasonably strong, so therefore companies are now starting to look at projects that they put on hold and that they delayed. They're looking at restarting them."

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)