Stronger global demand for the yellow plant for mining and construction meant US-based manufacturer; Caterpillar Inc, enjoyed a year-on-year rise in second-quarter revenue.
For the second time this year, it is also raising its sales and income expectations due to market growth, but the company says that Latin American and Middle Eastern markets remain soft.
The New York stock exchange-listed company is announcing second-quarter 2017 sales and revenues of USD $11.3 billion, compared with $10.3 billion in the second quarter of 2016.
Caterpillar says its second-quarter 2017 profit per share was USD $1.35, compared with USD $0.93 per share in the second quarter of 2016.
Excluding restructuring costs and a gain on the sale of an equity investment in IronPlanet, second-quarter 2017 adjusted profit per share was USD $1.49, compared to second-quarter 2016 adjusted profit per share of USD $1.09.
Caterpillar’s financial position continued to strengthen. Machinery, Energy and Transportation (ME&T) operating cash flow was USD $2.0 billion during the quarter, and ME&T’s debt-to-capital ratio improved to 38.6%, compared with 41.7% at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
In June, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend increase and ended the quarter with an enterprise cash balance of USD $10.2 billion.
“Our team delivered an impressive quarter. As demand grew, we continued to control costs and generated higher profit margins,” says Caterpillar chief executive Jim Umpleby.
“While some end markets remain challenged, construction in China and gas compression in North America were quarter highlights,” says Umpleby.
Mining and oil-related activities have come from recent lows, and we are seeing improving demand for construction in most regions,” he says.
“Resulting from increased demand across many end markets as well as disciplined cost control, Caterpillar is raising its 2017 outlook. Some risks remain in the outlook, including weakness in the Middle East and Latin America, as well as geopolitical and commodity risk,” says Umpleby.
In April 2017, Caterpillar provided an outlook range for full-year 2017 sales and revenues of USD $38 billion to $41 billion with a midpoint of USD $39.5 billion.
The company is raising its full-year 2017 expectations for sales and earnings to a range of USD $42 billion to $44 billion with a midpoint of USD $43 billion.
