Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction equipment, raised its full-year earnings forecast on higher demand in developing countries for mining, energy and rail equipment.
Full-year earnings will be $US3.15 to $US3.85 a share, up from its April forecast of $US2.50 to $US3.25, the Peoria, Illinois-based company said in a statement today. The average estimate was $US3.27 in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Second-quarter profit was $1.09 a share, beating the 84-US-cent estimate.
"You've got strong growth in India and China that provides demand for commodities," Chief Financial Officer Ed Rapp said in an interview. "Most of the mining is happening in the developing parts of the world."
Caterpillar, led by new Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman, is investing almost $US700 million to make hydraulic shovels and expand truck output. Machinery sales in North America gained 43 per cent in the quarter, while rising 62 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region and more than doubling in Latin America. China presents the largest single opportunity for construction machinery, the company said.
Caterpillar rose $US1.37, or 2.1 per cent, to $US68.24 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares climbed 17 per cent this year before today.
Net income rose 91 per cent to $US707 million from $US371 million a year earlier and sales increased 31 per cent to $US10.4 billion. Annual sales may be $US39 billion to $US42 billion, with the low end raised $US1 billion since April, the company said.