Sales and profits rise at Caterpillar
25 October 2011
Caterpillar reported third quarter net profits of US$ 1.1 billion, up +44% against the same period in 2010. Sales increased +41% year-on-year to US$ 15.7 billion for the third quarter - a new record, according to the company.
The results included the impact of Caterpillar's acquisition of mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus - a US$ 8.8 billion deal that completed in July. The company said that, excluding the impact of Bucyrus, its third quarter sales would have been US$ 14.6 billion, up +31% year-on-year.
Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman said, "Although there is a good deal of economic and political uncertainty in the world, we are not seeing it much in our business at this point. We believe continued economic recovery, albeit a slow recovery, is the most likely scenario as we move forward."
The company improved its full-year outlook and now expects sales to reach US$ 58 billion in 2011. The previous outlook range was between US$ 56 billion and US$ 58 billion. Profit for this year is forecast to reach US$ 6.75 per share, compared to the prior range of US$ 6.25 to US$ 6.75 per share.
And Caterpillar forecast sales growth of between +10% and +20% for 2012 - a preliminary outlook based on improving, but slow, growth in developed parts of the world and higher growth in developing countries.
"We are continuing to increase production levels for many of our products and expect that supply will remain tight in 2012. That's why we are making strategic investments in our business to position Caterpillar for continued success well beyond 2012," Mr Oberhelman said.
