Caterpillar reported modest sales growth in its second quarter this morning, despite lower sales in a competitive global market.
The company said second quarter’s sales and revenue totaled $14.43 billion — an increase of 3 percent over the same quarter last year.
Sales in the Asia-Pacific market dropped by 8 percent this quarter. Caterpillar attributes this to ongoing pressure in China. Infrastructure spending helped boost North American business.
Profit per share rose 1 cent to $2.83 per share, but Wall Street was unimpressed with the results. They expected $3.12 per share. As a result, shares fell 5 percent in premarket trading.
Caterpillar Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield told investors in a conference call Wednesday morning that this quarter’s performance was influenced by a number of factors, including weak oil and gasoline sales, and significant restructuring costs — something he said should not recur in the second half of the year.
The company is maintaining its 2019 outlook of $12.06 to $13.06 per share, but anticipates ending up at the lower end of this range.
Bonfield says the outlook assumes natural gas prices and inventory demand will bounce back later in the year.
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