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The
heavy equipment maker's profit of 84 cents per share topped the
68 cents per share expected by analysts, Refinitiv Eikon data
showed.
Revenue fell 31% to $10 billion with sales declining across all
regions and in its three primary segments of construction,
mining, and energy and transportation.
The manufacturer, a bellwether for economic activity, said its
financial results would be impacted by continued global economic
uncertainty.
As a result, it declined to reinstate its earnings guidance
which was withdrawn in late March. Share repurchases will also
remain suspended this year.
However, it paid shareholders $600 million in dividends.
Caterpillar's earnings come a day after the U.S. economy
reported its deepest contraction since the Great Depression.
The world's largest economy shrank at a 32.9% annualized rate
last quarter with a 37.7% plunge in spending on equipment.
A resurgence in new coronavirus cases has also dimmed the
outlook for the current quarter.
There is not much to cheer outside the United States, either.
The International Monetary Fund now expects deeper contraction
in global output this year.
With lower demand oil prices have also fallen, hitting spending
on non-residential building such as mines and wells.
Retail machine sales fell 23% in the three months to June 30,
Caterpillar said.
It expects equipment demand to remain weak and has raised its
estimates for reductions in dealer inventories to more than $2
billion this year from $1.5 billion estimated earlier.
Caterpillar said it is cutting costs and prioritizing investment
in its services business which is expected to hold up better
than equipment demand in the downturn.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Jason Neely and
David Evans)
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