Caterpillar digs lower as Asian slowdown overshadows rising revenue

Caterpillar on Wednesday reported that its first quarter revenues increased as the construction machinery and equipment company achieved record first-quarter profit per share, though construction sales declined in its key Asia Pacific market.

Construction Industries revenues from the Asia Pacific region slip by 4% to $1.6bn during the first quarter, due to a downturn in sales in China, where economic growth slowed.

A slowdown in Chinese construction after two years of bumper growth had already impacted on Caterpillar at the end of 2018 and investors were closely watching to see what the company and others had to say about conditions in that market.

In a conference call with analysts, Caterpillar's chief financial officer, Andrew Bonfield, said Chinese sales were being hurt by aggressive price competition and admitted that the the company may lose a "little bit" of market share in the country, Bloomberg reported.

Overall, the company achieved revenue of $13.5bn, an increase of 5% over the same quarter the year before, helped by stronger activity in the US, while profit per share came in at $3.25, for a total profit of $1.9bn, a 19% increase.

The revenue increase was propelled by an 18% increase in Resource Industries revenues to $2.7bn due to higher equipment demand, favorable price realization and services, and a 3% increase in Construction Industries revenue to $5.9bn amid higher end-user demand for construction equipment, though this was partially offset by a smaller increase in dealer inventories compared with the first quarter of 2018.

Excluding extraordinary tax gains, the American Fortune 100 corporation maintained its 2019 earnings targets.

Jim Umpleby, chairman and chief executive of Caterpillar, said: "The global Caterpillar team delivered record first-quarter profit per share. We are executing our strategy for profitable growth by investing in services, expanding our offerings and improving operational excellence."

Caterpillar's shares were down 3.11% at $137.85 at 1537 BST.