Rockwell Collins reported higher third-quarter earnings today, driven primarily by stronger performance in the company’s Interior Systems business and a big tax benefit from the Tax Cut & Jobs Act, the Corridor Business Journal reported. The Cedar Rapids aerospace components company reported earnings of $1.66 per share, up 48 percent from $1.12 per share in the prior year’s third quarter. However, the company’s adjusted earnings per share increased more narrowly to $1.73 per share from $1.64 per share in the year-earlier quarter. The primary adjustments were a tax benefit of 42 cents per share from the Tax Cut & Jobs Act, and 23 cents in one-time charges related to a contract issue settlement payment and an asset writedown. The earnings were below analysts’ estimates, but Rockwell Collins’ share price was largely unaffected by the miss because it is more influenced by the price of the upcoming stock-and-cash purchase of Rockwell Collins by United Technologies Corp.