Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction equipment company, saw a 31% rise in sales and revenues for the first quarter of this year, reporting figures of $12.9bn for the quarter compared to $9.8bn for the same period in 2017.
A statement from the company added that profit per share rose to $2.74, said to be a first-quarter record. The corresponding figures for the previous year was $0.32 per share. Adjusted profit per share more than doubled to $2.82 in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $1.28 in Q1, 2017.
The first three months of 2018 saw the company’s operating cash flow for its Machinery, Energy & Transportation operations was $948m and it repurchased $500m of its common stock.
“The combination of strength in many of our end markets and our team’s continued focus on operational excellence – including strong cost control – helped us deliver improved margins and a record first-quarter profit. Based on our strong first-quarter results and higher demand across all regions and most end markets, we are raising our outlook for 2018,” said Jim Umpleby, CEO of Caterpillar.
Caterpillar increased its profit per share outlook by $2 over the guidance it provided in January, to a range of between $9.75 and $10.75, primarily due to growing demand for its products and services.
Caterpillar has forecast growth in all regions for 2018 in its construction industries segment. This is based largely on the North American construction sector going strong and China returning to major infrastructure development, while the Latin American market is expected to continue its recovery.
