bontai Joe
05-17-2005, 10:47 AM
AP
Deere & Co. 2Q Profit Surges 27 Percent
Tuesday May 17, 9:07 am ET
Deere & Co. 2Q Profit Surges 27 Percent on Strong North American Equipment Sales
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) -- Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. on Tuesday said its fiscal second-quarter profit surged 27 percent from a year ago, bolstered by strong equipment sales in North America.
Shares rose $1.70, or 2.8 percent, to $61.49 in premarket activity.
Deere reported earnings of $604 million, or $2.43 per share, for the quarter ended April 30, compared with $477.3 million, or $1.88 per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 13 percent to $6.62 billion.
The results beat Wall Street's consensus forecast of $2.13 per share, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on revenue of $6.05 billion.
Company equipment sales in the United States and Canada rose 13 percent for the quarter, and rose 11 percent elsewhere, excluding the benefit of foreign currency translation.
Deere projected earnings of $450 million to $475 million in the current quarter, and between $1.55 billion to $1.6 billion for the full year.
It also projected equipment sales would increase by 13 to 15 percent for the third quarter, and between 9 percent to 11 percent for the year. The sales forecast excludes the effects of foreign currency translation; including the currency benefit would add roughly two percentage points to sales for both periods, Deere said.
The company also forecast production levels would fall between 7 percent to 9 percent in this year's second half, with most of the slowdown occurring in the fourth quarter, resulting in lower year-end trade receivable and inventory levels ahead of the launch of new products next year.
Deere & Co. 2Q Profit Surges 27 Percent
Tuesday May 17, 9:07 am ET
Deere & Co. 2Q Profit Surges 27 Percent on Strong North American Equipment Sales
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) -- Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. on Tuesday said its fiscal second-quarter profit surged 27 percent from a year ago, bolstered by strong equipment sales in North America.
Shares rose $1.70, or 2.8 percent, to $61.49 in premarket activity.
Deere reported earnings of $604 million, or $2.43 per share, for the quarter ended April 30, compared with $477.3 million, or $1.88 per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 13 percent to $6.62 billion.
The results beat Wall Street's consensus forecast of $2.13 per share, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on revenue of $6.05 billion.
Company equipment sales in the United States and Canada rose 13 percent for the quarter, and rose 11 percent elsewhere, excluding the benefit of foreign currency translation.
Deere projected earnings of $450 million to $475 million in the current quarter, and between $1.55 billion to $1.6 billion for the full year.
It also projected equipment sales would increase by 13 to 15 percent for the third quarter, and between 9 percent to 11 percent for the year. The sales forecast excludes the effects of foreign currency translation; including the currency benefit would add roughly two percentage points to sales for both periods, Deere said.
The company also forecast production levels would fall between 7 percent to 9 percent in this year's second half, with most of the slowdown occurring in the fourth quarter, resulting in lower year-end trade receivable and inventory levels ahead of the launch of new products next year.