Caterpillar, Inc. reported a 400-million dollar increase in sales and revenue for the second quarter of 2019 and a one-cent hike in profit per share.
Sales and revenue totaled $14.4 billion dollars, compared to $14 billion during the same period of 2018. Profit per share was $2.83, compared to $2.82 last year.
CAT’s Machinery, Energy and Transportation (ME&T) operating cash flow was $2 billion. The company announced it repurchased $1.4 billion of Caterpillar common stock and paid dividends of a half-billion dollars in the second quarter.
“Sales and revenues increased this quarter, including a record performance from Construction Industries, which reflected our strong competitive position globally,” CAT Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said in a news release. “Our strong operating cash flow in the quarter allowed us to repurchase shares and pay dividends of about $1.9 billion. This is in line with our intention to return substantially all free cash flow to shareholders.”
Caterpillar is maintaining its year-end outlook for profit per share to be in the range of $12.06 to $13.06, but expects to be at the lower end of the range.
The company is expecting modest sales growth to continue the remainder of 2019, which assumes a recovery in Oil and Gas near the end of the year and dealers working through higher machine inventory levels. CAT is expecting price realization to offset manufacturing costs. Umpleby said with a higher amount of restructuring costs incurred in the second quarter of 2018, the company expects restructuring costs for the remainder of the year to be significantly lower.
“We expect our profit per share in 2019 to be another record,” Umpleby said. “We have the right strategy in place to deliver long-term profitable growth through our continued focus on strategic investments, including growing services and expanding offerings. We will also continue to focus on driving operational excellence including a flexible and competitive cost structure.”
The outlook does not include a mark-to-market gain or loss for remeasurement of pension and other postemployment benefit plans, which will be excluded from adjusted profit per share in the fourth quarter of 2019 along with any other discrete items.
