--> CAT +5.87% Pre market
Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.54 per share, $0.26 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.28; revenues fell 10.4% year/year to $14.4 bln vs the $13.61 bln consensus.
Co expects $1.7 bln of stock repurchase and announces authorization for new $10 bln stock repurchase program
Co issues upside guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $5.85, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.80 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs in 2014 to be similar to 2013 of $56 mln in a range of plus of minus 5%, which equates to ~$53.2-58.8 bln vs. $55.18 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Sales and revenues for full-year 2013 were $55.656 bln, down 16% from $65.875 bln in 2012. The decline in sales and revenues was primarily driven by a sharp drop in sales of new machines for mining. Profit per share in 2013 was $5.75, down from $8.48 in 2012.
Despite this challenging environment, the co reported record Machinery and Power Systems (M&PS) operating cash flow of $9 bln in 2013.
2013 In Review
"As we look back on 2013, it was a year overshadowed by a substantial decline in sales of relatively high margin mining products. We expected there would be a decline in mining sales in 2013, and it turned out to be worse than we anticipated."
"As a result, we took substantial actions to reduce costs which helped mitigate the impact on profit. While mining was significantly negative for sales and profit in our Resource Industries segment, Caterpillar is a diverse company that serves a wide range of industries across the globe."
"Sales in our Construction Industries and Power Systems segments did not decline nearly as much in 2013. Our largest segment, Power Systems, delivered profit near its 2012 record despite lower sales. We also had a strong year in our Financial Products segment, which delivered a record profit in 2013. During 2013, we worked on a large number of restructuring activities. Some actions have already occurred, some have been announced and are in process and some are anticipated in our outlook for 2014."