Caterpillar profit beats estimates on higher demand, price hikes

[April 28, 2022]  (Reuters) -Caterpillar Inc reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday, as a boom in construction and mining activities drove demand for its heavy machinery across industrial sectors.

Caterpillar logo is pictured at the 'Bauma' Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines, Construction Vehicles and Construction Equipment in Munich, Germany, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo

The company, a proxy for global economic activity, has benefited from increased construction demand in North America, while a rise in oil and commodity prices has led to more orders for equipment used to facilitate production and transport.

Sales at its construction industries business, its largest unit, rose 12% to $6.12 billion.

The company has also managed to dodge the impact of supply-chain challenges and higher input costs, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, by announcing a series of price hikes.

Caterpillar said on Thursday it continues to anticipate further price increases to offset manufacturing costs in 2022 that will help improve its margins in the second half of the year, compared with the first.

The company's adjusted profit for the quarter was $2.88 per share, beating average analysts' expectation of $2.60 per share.

Revenue for the quarter rose about 14% to $13.59 billion.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)


 

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