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BCN-16
US-INDUSTRIAL-EARNINGS-CATERPILLAR
Caterpillar has Q1 bump in sales, revenues; decline in China seen
NEW YORK, April 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Caterpillar, the US construction and
mining equipment maker, on Wednesday reported higher first-quarter sales and
revenues, driven by healthy demand for the company’s gear and services.
However, the company, a Dow member and bellwether for the global economy,
faces declining market share in China as competitors lower their prices, a
top executive told Bloomberg.
Sales rose five percent year-on-year to $13.5 billion in the first quarter
of 2019, with per-share profits rising to a record $3.25, up from $2.74 last
year.
Quarterly profits were boosted by $178 million tax benefit that helped
offset restructuring costs. The company also spent $1.2 billion on share
buybacks and dividends in the quarter.
After adjustments, earnings per share came to $2.94, better than the $2.86
analysts had been expecting.
The company left its 2019 performance outlook unchanged but due to the
first-quarter “discrete tax benefit” it raised its forecast for profits per
share before adjustments to a range of $12.06 to $13.06 for the full year, up
from the previous $11.75 to $12.75.
The tax benefit was tied to final regulations recently issued by the US
Treasury, the company said in a statement.
Following the announcement, Caterpillar shed pre-market share price gains
on Wall Street, putting the company down 2.59 percent toward 1450 GMT.
Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield told Bloomberg in an interview
that in China the company would “lose a little bit of market share” for 2019
due to “aggressive pricing” by competitors.
BSS/AFP/HR/1000