Caterpillar (CAT) -) posted better-than-expected second quarter earnings Tuesday, thanks in part to higher construction equipment demand linked to a surge in infrastructure spending.
Caterpillar said adjusted profits for the three months ending in June were pegged at $5.55 per share, up nearly 75% from the same period last year and well ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $4.58 per share.
Group revenues, Caterpillar said, rose 21.4% to $17.3 billion, a figure that just missed analysts' estimates of a $16.5 billion tally. Operating profit margin was 21.1% for the quarter, well ahead of the 13.6% tally recorded last year.
"I'm proud of our global team's strong operational performance in the second quarter. Our results reflect continued healthy demand as we achieved double-digit top-line growth and record adjusted profit per share while generating strong ME&T free cash flow," said CEO Jim Umpleby. "Our team remains committed to serving our customers, executing our strategy and continuing to invest for long-term profitable growth."
Caterpillar shares were marked 8% higher in early afternoon trading trading following the earnings release to change hans at $286.80 each.
Construction sales were up 19% to $7.15 billion, Caterpillar said, "driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories and higher sales of equipment to end users." The gains were also linked in part to boost in demand for construction equipment linked to President Joe Biden's $1 trillion "once in a generation" infrastructure bill passed in late 2021.
Resource, energy and transportation sales were up 27% to $7.23 billion thanks to "primarily due to higher sales volume and favorable price realization.
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