Caterpillar 4Q Profit Rises

The Associated Press ^ | 01/12/08 | Samantha Bomkamp

[dan_s]

Caterpillar Inc., one of the world's largest construction equipment makers, said Friday its fourth-quarter earnings rose 11 percent on strong international growth.

The company earned $975 million, or $1.50 per share, compared with $882 million, or $1.32 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $12.14 billion from $11 billion in the prior-year period.

Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.50 per share on revenue of $11.79 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

The company said strong economic growth outside the United States, particularly in the mining, energy and infrastructure segments, offset weakness in the domestic market.

The company said it still expects to grow profit by 5 percent to 15 percent in 2008, and sees revenue rising 5 percent to 10 percent year-over-year. The prediction implies 2008 profit of $5.64 to $6.18 per share on revenue of $44.06 billion to $46.16 billion.

"While we expect anemic growth in the U.S. economy, we continue to see positive conditions for our sales in most of the rest of the world," the company said in a statement.

Analysts were expecting a profit of $5.98 per share on revenue of $47.8 billion.

[Question Liberal Authority]

The company said strong economic growth outside the United States, particularly in the mining, energy and infrastructure segments, offset weakness in the domestic market.

I remember back in the old days, when America had mining, energy and infrastructure segments.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Shortest recession in history.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Honeywell and Microsoft came out with good earnings also. So much for recession.

[Jagman]

The upside to the weak dollar. Big exporters like Cat, Cummins, and other can’t lose in export markets, because their quality and technology is worldclass and their prices can’t be beat.

[NVDave]

Didn’t listen to the conference call, did you?

The comments made by CAT’s execs on the US economy were rather negative. They don’t see any recovery in US engine sales in the trucking sector in ‘08, as had previously been projected. They’re basing most of their projections for revenue growth on overseas sales.

Cat’s comments on the call today reinforce the case for an oncoming recession in the US.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A sale is a sale. Here or overseas.

[NVDave]

Entire domestic market segments that show declines in sales means that there is a slowing economy.

You’re conflating your stock-picking with macro-economic analysis. It doesn’t work.

What Cat said on the conference call was not good for the US economy as a whole, ie, the issue of recession.

[RightWhale]

back in the old days

All that was over about 1970. The USA dominates the world commerce but apparently how it does this is not known to anybody capable of explaining it to graduates of Gummint School.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I’m sticking with energy stocks.

[mimaw]

That’s why we can’t let the protectionists win. We would have recessions more often and deeper.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I’ve always liked Cat equipment. The coal company I once worked for was all Caterpillar in our rolling stock but Manitowoc for primary excavators. Even then, the Manitowocs were Cat powered. Parts were unbelievably expensive and engine life was strictly 12,000 hours for an overhaul.

[mimaw]

I’m tired of all the whining in this country that we are losing our manufacturing base. If our manufacturers are not laden with unreasonable labor demands and government restrictions and confiscatory taxes and if they actually produce something the rest of the world wants to buy no one can match us.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I understand that Cat equipment is selling well in Asia, which is Komatsu’s backyard.