Caterpillar reports 54% drop in quarterly earnings

[October 27, 2020]  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> on Tuesday reported lower third-quarter earnings as equipment sales fell across all three primary segments.

A row of excavators are seen at the Caterpillar booth at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. March 9, 2017. REUTERS/David Becker/File Photo

In the third quarter, the heavy equipment maker reported a profit of $1.22 per share, down 54% from a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, on average, expected earnings of $1.16 per share.

The heavy equipment maker, a bellwether for economic activity, has been suffering from business uncertainty caused by the U.S.-China trade standoff and the coronavirus pandemic, with sales of its yellow bulldozers, mining trucks and other equipment hit by customers delaying capital expenditures.

Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby, however, said the company was witnessing "positive signs" in certain industries and geographies. Construction machine sales in Asia-Pacific, for example, were up 14% year-on-year in the latest quarter.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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