Caterpillar’s net profit for the third quarter is down 54% due to the COVID 19 crisis.
The U.S. manufacturer reported revenues of £7.58 billion and adjusted earnings per share of £1.03.
Caterpillar’s sales in the construction industry declined by 23% on an annualized basis.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) announced on Tuesday that its third quarter earnings for the fiscal year were down 54% year-over-year as equipment sales remained under pressure in all regions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Caterpillar opened on Tuesday with the stock market down nearly 1% and lost another 1.5% in the next hour. The company’s shares are now trading at 121 pounds, down from a much lower price of 70 pounds per share in March. The world’s largest construction equipment manufacturer started the year with a share price of £115 per share. Learn more about how people make money on the stock market.
Caterpillar’s financial results for the 3rd quarter compared to analysts’ estimates
According to Refinitiv, experts had forecast the company’s sales of 7.50 billion pounds sterling for the third quarter. For the adjusted earnings per share they had estimated 90 pence. In its report on Tuesday, Caterpillar exceeded both estimates with higher third-quarter revenues of £7.58 billion and adjusted earnings per share of £1.03.
Net profit for the Deerfield-based company was £511.25 million, well below £1.14 billion in the same quarter last year. Earlier this month, Caterpillar acquired the Weir Group’s oil and gas business for £310 million in cash.
Commenting on the earnings report on Tuesday, CEO Jim Umpleby said
“Our third quarter results were largely in line with our expectations and we are encouraged by positive signs in certain industries and regions. We are implementing our strategy and are ready to respond quickly to changing market conditions.
In the previous quarter (Q2), the U.S. Fortune 100 company had experienced a massive 70% decline in annualized earnings to £790 million due to the COVID 19 crisis, which has so far infected more than 44 million people worldwide and caused over 1.1 million deaths.
Other prominent figures in Caterpillar’s profit report
Other prominent figures in Caterpillar’s earnings report on Tuesday include £3.18 billion in revenue from the company’s energy and transportation segment, down 24% year-on-year but exceeding the £2.99 billion FactSet Consensus.
At £3.11 billion, construction industry revenue was also 23% lower on an annualized basis, but exceeded the FactSet Consensus of £2.95 billion.
Caterpillar performed quite well on the stock market last year, with an annual profit of almost 20%. At the time of writing, the company is valued at £65.74 billion and has a price-earnings ratio of 21.28.
